Northern Downpour
by heyjacquelynn
Summary: Grey Sloan Memorial survives- fighting tooth and nail- it's what they do. And when the doctors start to leave the hospital as it becomes clear that no one from Grey Sloan will ever win a Harper Avery, Cristina Yang steps in to keep the hospital alive. Because that's what they do- they survive.
1. Chapter 1

**Northern Downpour**

Disclaimer: All rights belong to their respective people.

* * *

"I don't know, Cristina. They're dropping like freakin' flies around here." Meredith Grey slouched in her chair in the board room of Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. She rubbed her eyes, which were feeling gritty from a long day of surgeries. Wearily, she looked up to the large flat screen smart tv that was mounted on the wall in front of her. The face of her best friend, her person, looked back at her- wild curls framed the face of Cristina Yang, who sat in her apartment in Zurich. The infamous red Stanford sweater hung loosely around the slim frame of the Korean woman as she leaned back in her chair, drawing her legs up towards her body. Cristina took a sip of coffee that was still just a little too hot.

"What do you mean, Mer? Did another one of them quit? What the hell is going on over there?" Cristina rallied back to the screen. It had become routine for the two women to Skype whenever they could, since Cristina still hated texting, though she put up with it for the sake of her person, but it helped to see her best friend, to actually be able to have a conversation where she could physically see Meredith, to be able to properly gauge her facial expression as they came.

"Dr. Michaels over in Oncology just quit. Now that everyone knows that this hospital isn't going to turn out any Harper Avery's, no one wants to stick around- it's career suicide! And we've tried to hold interviews, but everyone applying are just duds!" Meredith threw her hands out in exasperation. "I guess that's what you get when all the innovative and talented surgeons know that they'll never advance their career if they come here. Now it's just surgeons who are good, but content to just be good! There's no spark! This hospital is going to drop in rankings, and soon patients will be avoiding us like the plague." Meredith closed her eyes and tried to roll the kinks out of her neck. She had been wearing the same scrubs for 14 hours straight, and all she wanted now was a big glass of wine. Or maybe a couple of shots of tequila.

"Well, what are you going to do about it? The Harper Avery Foundation owns a huge chunk of that hospital, and if they're not allowing anyone in affiliation with them win the award then this is going to keep happening."

"I know, but short of someone buying out their portion of the hospital and cutting those ties, there's nothing we can do." Sighing, Meredith shook her head, her long blonde hair shifting with the movement. "None of us have that kind of money, and we can't risk fishing for buyers. If the foundation heard about it, they might withdraw their support and the hospital would be right back to where we started- selling for scraps. Plus, if someone were to buy it, whose to say they wouldn't change everything! I don't know which is worse." Now she groaned in frustration, leaning forward to rest her elbows on her knees. "Owen's up to his ears in paperwork, trying to make all this work out, Derek is still going back and forth between here and D.C., Callie and Arizona are busy with all their business, Webber is trying to talk to Jackson's mom, but we all know that's not going anywhere. And Dr. Pierce won't leave me the hell alone. I know I said I wanted to at least try to get to know her, but that doesn't mean I want to go to the bar with her every night! I want to go home to my babies."

"So go home to your babies, Mer. If there's nothing you can do, there's nothing you can do. Maybe Webber will actually get through to Catherine. God knows I've agreed to some stupid shit after a good orgasm, maybe he'll catch her in a moment of weakness." Cristina smirked back to her friend, shoving some of the unruly curls away from her face.

"Ugh. Ew, Cristina. I don't want to think about Webber banging Jackson's mom, let alone Jackson's mom orgasming. That's just gross." Meredith laughed, enjoying the feeling of it. Cristina always managed to make her laugh, even when everything else was falling to shit around her. However, the moment passed and the weight of the situation felt heavy on her shoulders once again. "I don't know, Cristina. I don't know what we are going to do here." She slumped back once more, letting her scrubs bunch up around her body. "Anyway, enough about here, how's Zurich this week? Saving any lives of any orphaned infants today? Any ground-breaking, Harper Avery-winning surgeries?"

"Actually, I'm checking in on my heart soon. We're almost there, I can feel it. If I can just get the damn equation right, I'll have it. I'm going in at 10:00 to check up on it, then I have a board meeting around lunch. Shit, that means I have to bring heels with me. I hate the politics of running a hospital- why do I have to wear heels and a blazer just to be acknowledged? Sexist pigs." She grumbled back, already thinking of the hour and a half she was going to have to spend in something other than her scrubs.

"Well, at least your hospital can keep it's doctors- no ones going to walk away from a hospital that's 'this close' to printing a functioning heart."

"True. Damn, I have to start getting ready, and I don't know where I threw those damn heels." Cristina muttered as she set her coffee mug down on a stack of medical journals that were taking up most of the room on small table that sat next to the chair. Standing, she rolled her shoulders and neck, trying to enjoy the last few hours of non-heel-wearing hell. "Look, Mer, don't worry about Grey Sloan, it will all work out- that's what we do, we survive, okay? So, go home to your babies, have some wine, Skype sex your husband, and come back tomorrow being the bad ass surgeon you're meant to be, okay? I've gotta go, I'll text you later."

"Yeah. Text you later." Meredith returned as they signed off. Staring at the screen for a moment longer, Meredith shook her head. "How are we supposed to survive when you're not here? You're the one who keeps everything together around here." She muttered to the dark screen in front of her. Realizing it wasn't going to do her any good to talk to the blank screen, Meredith stood up, gathering up the case files and interview folders she had splayed out on the glossy conference table.

After double checking that she had everything, she turned towards the glass doors of the room, only to draw up short at the sight of their Chief of Surgery leaning up against the counters of the nurses station just outside the room. He stared at the blank screen of the tv that just held the face of Cristina Yang. Sighing, Meredith made her way out of the room, heading over to where Dr. Hunt, Owen, stood. For a moment or two they stood there, not saying anything- Owen still staring at the tv in the conference room, while Meredith waited for him to say something.

She knew that he was still having a hard time adjusting to Cristina being gone, knew he still did double takes at every dark, curly haired woman that walked through the hospital before he caught himself and reminded himself that she was in Zurich. Meredith knew that it was even harder for him because, unlike Meredith, Owen and Cristina didn't stay in touch. They had decided it was best for them to try to move on, and that the only way to do that was to cut off all interaction from each other. So, while Meredith still got to see and hear her best friend, Owen was struggling with the absence of her.

"How- uh, how is she doing? She looks like she's doing well." Owen murmured eventually, his voice low and heavy as he turned slight towards her, his eyes shifting to the floor in front of them.

"She is." Meredith confirmed. "She's… she's doing well. Zurich is good for her." Meredith responded softly, trying to gently remind him that the decision was the right one. That Cristina was meant for bigger things, that she was doing bigger things.

"Yeah." Owen shifted his face once more back to the darkened conference room. "Yeah." He muttered again as if to reassure himself.

"I- ah- I thought you had another date with Amelia tonight?" Meredith question, trying to be supportive of Owen's attempts to move on, even if it was with Derek's sister.

Owen cleared his throat before turning to meet Meredith's eyes for the first time since the conversation started. "Yeah. Yeah, I did. But with Michaels quitting today, I'm swamped with paperwork, and Amelia got a page for a consult, and it just… it just didn't happen. Too much going on." He pushed a hand through his hair before shoving it into the pockets of his lab coat. "Well. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah. I've got a surgery at 9:30 tomorrow. I should get home and get some sleep. See you tomorrow."

"Yeah. See ya." With a small, sad smile the two surgeons went their separate ways.

* * *

"Damn. Damn, damn, damn. Stupid heels. Stupid board meeting. Stupid, stupid, stupid." Cristina muttered as she sat in her office chair, shoving her small feet into her black open toe pumps. She slid the zipper up the back of the impressive heels and once again cursing the fact that she hadn't had time to swing by the coffee cart one last time before she had to get ready for her meeting. Just as she stood up, taking a moment to reestablish her balance on the 4 inch high heels, there was a knock on her office door. "Oh. Come in." Cristina called out, smoothing the front of her smart black blazer down over her front.

"Hey." Dr. Shane Ross said as he stepped through the door, juggling case files and two coffees in his hands. "Nice. You look very professional." He smirked as he caught his first look at Cristina. "Anyway, I know you have that board meeting, and I also know you probably didn't have time for what is probably your third cup of coffee this morning, so, here, I grabbed you one from the coffee cart." Stepping further into the room, he extended one of the coffees that he had been carrying.

"Oh, thank god." Cristina muttered as she stepped forward to relieve him of his precious burden. She closed her hand around the hot cup of coffee, relishing in the warmth that spread up her arm. "I definitely needed this. Stupid board meetings. I don't understand why I have to sit there and listen to grown men argue over this or that. I just want to work on my heart, and I have a surgery later today that I could be going over the research on one more time instead of this stupid meeting."

"Yeah, I figured that's how you'd be today. I checked in on your patient for your surgery later, her vitals are still holding stable, and she should be all ready for surgery by the time you get out of the meeting today. I'll make sure she's prepped and ready for you- we all know you're going to want some blood on those hands after an afternoon sitting around listening to proposals." Shane laughed, knowing his mentor too well.

In the past few months at the hospital, everyone here had caught on to the fact that Cristina Yang was only really, truly happy when she had blood on her hands, and she had managed to scrub in on at least three surgeries in a given day. She wasn't the administrative type, which is generally not a good quality for the head of a hospital to have, but everyone let it go fairly easily after watching just how brilliant she was in an OR. The hospital was still running at an amazing rate of efficiency, and with Cristina's work being some of the best many of them had ever seen, there was no reason to cause any problems.

"Perfect. I'm going to need to cut something after this." Cristina responded as she gathered her files and placed them in the sleek, black satchel that served as her briefcase at work. "Apparently this meeting is going to be a big one. Something happened, though I have no idea what. All I know is there's actually going to be lawyers present at this meeting, which means something big. Damn. This meeting better not go over time."

"Lawyers? That's different." Shane muttered as he followed Cristina out of the office and down the hall. Cristina's smart heels clicked on the floors as she strode along the hall, and Shane had a brief moment to wish that she had left her curls loose that day. They always looked so amazing as they bounced with every step she took, but Cristina had once told him that she looked less professional with wild curls all over the place, so she generally pulled them back for board meetings. "You worried about it?"

"Not really, no. The only thing I'm worried about is the time. Lawyers always means paperwork, and signing, and negotiating, and I don't have time to sit on my ass all day while they all bicker over what clause of what form goes where." Cristina muttered as she took another sip of the coffee that Shane had brought her.

They rounded the corner of the hall to face the wall of glass that encased the board room. Cristina stopped before cursing her luck- there were in fact, lawyers. Several lawyers. She recognized a few of them; one as the hospitals main lawyer on retainer, one as the lawyer of the billionaire, Mr. Swavinski, who was bankrolling the hospital. "Damn." She said, before shaking her head and making her way to the room. Stepping inside, she put on her best smile, and walked through the group of people to reach her place at the table. "Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Let's get started, shall we?"

* * *

Voices pounded against her ears as she stared blankly at the papers placed in front of her. The arguing was muted, as if she had dunked her head underwater the second the lawyers informed her of the situation. Shock. She recognized the feeling, it wasn't something she was unaccustomed to. She had felt it rip through her body when her dad died, when Burke had left her at the alter, when Owen had cheated, when she was rescued from the plane crash, when she had boarded the plane to Zurich without having gotten her big goodbye with Owen. Owen. She wanted to call Owen. She wanted to call Meredith. She want to jump up out of her soft seat in this board meeting, and run as far away from here as she could.

Billions. What was she going to do with billions of dollars? She already had more money than she could possibly spend, and now she had billions. She was definitely in shock, and the voices outside her head seemed to be getting louder, more aggressive with their tones.

"He left her everything?!"

"She doesn't even know anything about administration- all she wants to do is cut things open!"

"What about the hospital- what happens now?"

"Dr. Yang? Dr. Yang!" "Huh? Wha-?" Cristina looked up, certain that her eyes were wide and lost. "Dr. Yang. Upon his demise, Mr. Swavinski had all of his financial assets signed over to you, to do with as you please." The lawyer spoke directly to her, ignoring the sounds of displeasure the board made at the statement. This was the second, maybe third, time the lawyer had said this sentence, her voice unwavering and completely unfazed by the anger of the board members. Mr. Swavinski had made his wishes clear in his will, his billions would go directly to Dr. Cristina Yang, the young surgeon who he had had never actually formally met. The money was Cristina's now, free to do with as she pleased.

Alexandrea had been Mr. Swavinski's lawyer for years now, had helped him put together all the documents in order to start up the Klausman Institute, and everything else he had ever asked for, including the will that he had drawn up when it became clear that his cancer had progressed to the point of no return. They had kept it very hush hush, not wanting anyone to attempt to sway the man one way or the other during a moment of weakness. Mr. Swavinski had made it clear- his money would go to Dr. Yang, no question. He had said that she was a brilliant surgeon, that she would do incredible things. And with no other family, Mr. Swavinski had no one else he could think to give his money to. Of course, a few thousands went to various charities and projects that he was involved in, as well as a few thousand to Alexandrea herself, but the bulk of it, the billions of dollars that he had made in the stock market, went to one young Dr. Cristina Yang.

"Dr. Yang, do you understand?" Alexandrea asked, noticing the look that had taken residence on the young Asian woman's face.

"I- He- He was sick? He died?" Cristina asked, not entirely sure how this had all happened. As far as she knew Mr. Swavinski was a healthy man in his late 70's, how had he died?

"Unfortunately, yes. Mr. Swavinski had an aggressive form of cancer that progressed quickly. Upon his demise, he wished for you to receive his financial assets, for you to continue your research. It was something he believed strongly in, and it was something that he believed that you were, without a doubt, the best for the job." Alexandrea responded. She was pleased that the young doctor had actually asked about Mr. Swavinski- that she wasn't just celebrating her new found wealth, and instead seemed actually troubled over the loss of Mr. Swavinski's life. Dr. Yang seemed to be the only one who cared- the board members were more upset over the money, than the loss of life that had lead to the gifting of that money.

"I'm… I'm sorry for your loss." Cristina muttered, "I know you've been his lawyer for a long time." She looked down at the table in front of her, trying to process what had all just happened. Now that the world had come back into some semblance of focus, Cristina had begun to think about what this all actually meant.

"He was a dear friend." Alexandrea murmured back, touched by the woman's sympathy. She cleared her throat to once again gain the attention of the young doctor. "All you have to do now is read the forms, and sign in the appropriate areas, and the money is yours."

"I don't know anything about documents like this. I've never received… I mean, I've gotten money in a settlement before, but this… this is a lot of money, more than what I got in the settlement." Cristina told the lawyer, as she pulled the forms closer to her, glancing at the legal jargon that seemed to taunt her from the pages.

"See! She doesn't even know what to do with the paperwork!" One of the board members objected, shoving back from the table. "How is she supposed to know what to do with the money?"

"That is none of your concern." Alexandrea snapped at the man. Mr. Swavinski had always said that the board members were money hungry little hyenas, salivating over the next big paycheck, and now she could see why. "If Dr. Yang needs any help with the forms, she is more than welcome to seek legal counsel. The fact of the matter is, this money is now hers. If she wants to remain here at the Klausman Institute, she may, if she decides to build another hospital, that's entirely up to her- if she decides she wants to take the money, buy an island, and retire to sitting in the sand, sipping on mojitos, and banging cabana boys, that's her choice too!" Alexandrea raised her voice back at the man, angry that he would even think he had any rights to the money, "The point is, is that this money now belongs to Dr. Yang, and there's nothing you can do about it. Now. This meeting is adjourned, as far as I'm concerned. Dr. Yang, if you need any help with the documents, I still have plenty of time to stick around and help you through them."

It took a few moments, but eventually, the board members filtered out of the room, grumbling about the situation as they returned to their normal jobs. Alexandrea stayed, stand at the end of the table, staring at the doctor who continued to sit at the other end.

"What- ah. What does all this mean?" Cristina questioned. "Didn't he have family that he wanted to have this? Why me? I'd never even met him."

"He didn't. Have a family, that is. His daughter was the last one, and she died from her heart. That's what started all this. He wanted his money to matter, he wanted his money to give another family a chance to never have to feel what he felt when his daughter died. He thought Burke was going to be his best shot, and Burke was amazing, and he might have done it, but Burke, while dedicated and talented, didn't understand."

"And I do?" Cristina asked.

"I think you understand better than Burke did. I think you know what it's like to have someone you love have their heart fail to keep them alive. You can see it. In the way you handle hearts, your dedication, your drive, I think you do understand. And Mike, Mr. Swavinski, he could see it too. He researched you. Extensively. He poured over your case files, talked to your past patients, called old mentors, he even came here and watched one of your first surgeries here. He could see it. He knew what he was doing when he signed his last will and testament." Alexandrea moved around the table, coming to face Dr. Yang. "Now, as I said, the money is yours to do with what you want. If you want to go buy that island and spend your days with cabana boys, there's no one who is going to stop you. But I think that we both know that that's not what you're going to do with the money."

"No. That's not what I'm going to do." Cristina muttered as she looked back to the forms in front of her. "So, is there anything in here that I should be concerned about? Any stipulations, or clauses, or conditions?"

"No. I drew it up myself. It's just stating that you have been read the will, that you understand what it means, that you accept the money. It gives you the rights to all of his major investments that he didn't sign away to others. There are several other projects that he managed that he signed away to people he trusted, so you won't have to deal with any of that."

"Will you stay on? Like, can I hire you to be my lawyer in all this? You know his investments better than I do, you know what he would have wanted done with certain aspects of everything. I can… I can hire you to handle that stuff?"

"Yes. It would be my pleasure to help you with all of that."

"Okay then. Where do I sign?"

* * *

"You've reached Dr. Meredith Grey, please leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as possible."

"Mer. It's me. God. Ah- give me a call as soon as you get this, okay? I've got some news. Big. Big news. So, just call, okay?"

Meredith signed as she checked the time on her phone. It was too late now to call Cristina, with the time change it was almost 3 am in Zurich, and Cristina was bound to be asleep. Cursing that she had forgotten her phone in her locker for most the day, and didn't have a chance to check her messages before now, Meredith picked up her bag and made her way out of the locker room. She'd call Cristina tomorrow.

* * *

It didn't look like she was going to get a chance to call Cristina any time soon. Having been jolted out of bed with an emergency 911 page, Meredith already had her hands full. One of Bailey's Tuck-approved babysitters had agreed to come over to the house and take care of the kids even though it was only five in the morning, and Meredith sighed as she looked at the disaster that was happening in the Emergency Room at the moment. 16 car pile-ups always caused a mess, and it was no different when that mess made its way to the Emergency Room. It was all hands on deck, and Meredith jumped right in. Maybe she'd have some time later to call her person.

* * *

"You've reached Dr. Cristina Yang, leave a message."

"Hey, Cristina. Sorry I missed your call, it's been pretty hectic over here. I've got about another hour before I have to head into surgery, so give me a call, okay?" —

"You've reached Dr. Meredith Grey, please leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as possible."

"Damn. Mer, it's Cristina. Look, I really need to talk to you, okay? I'm about to do something, and I need some input here. It's… it's big, okay? Call me when you can."

"You've reached Dr. Cristina Yang, leave a message."

"Cristina, sorry I missed your call, again- surgery got bumped up. What do you mean you're about to do something big? Like, functioning-heart-big, or like, quit-your-job-and-take-up-basket-weaving-big? Call me!"

* * *

"You've reached the office of Dr. Cristina Yang, this is Michelle speaking, how can I help you today?"

"Michelle, hey, hi. It's Meredith Grey, Cristina's friend? I've been playing phone tag with her all day, and can't seem to get ahold of her- is she in the office right now?"

"Dr. Grey! Nice to hear from you again! Unfortunately, Dr. Yang is not in the office right now, she's taking a small leave of absence."

"A leave of absence? For what?" Meredith asked, her voice rising an octave. "Cristina doesn't take leaves of absences! All she does is work."

"It was rather sudden, but she said she had something important to do, and that she would be back as soon as possible."

"Shit. Oh, sorry. Uh, well if she calls the office, can you let her know I called?"

"Certainly, I'll let her know."

"Thank you, Michelle. I'll keep trying her cell too."

"Oh, you won't be able to get her on her cell right now, she's on a plane." Michelle replied as she fussed with the pen on her desk.

"A plane?! Cristina doesn't like to fly."

"That would explain why she told me to make sure the private jet had tequila on it." Michelle chuckled, thinking it was just one of her interesting boss's quirks.

"Yeah. Yeah, that sounds like her." Meredith sighed, resigning herself to not know what was going on with her best friend until her plane landed wherever she was going to. "Thanks, Michelle, just let me know if you hear from her, please?"

"No problem. Have a nice day, Dr. Grey."

"You too. Bye."

Meredith sighed as she hung up the phone. She had been hoping to catch Cristina before going into the board meeting that had been called by Jackson earlier that day. She always liked to be able to talk to Cristina before having to deal with conference meetings, they just stressed her out, especially when Derek wasn't there.

"Meredith?" Recognizing the voice, Meredith turned around, her eyes locking on the sight of her husband.

"Derek? What are you doing here? I thought you were in D.C. until next Friday?" She questioned as her husband leaned in for a kiss.

"I was but Jackson called this morning and said it was 911 emergent that I get here in time for the board meeting tonight. Do you know what's going on?"

"No, no one does. I already talked to everyone, and we have no clue. And Jackson's not budging either. I'm worried it has to do with the Harper Avery Foundation. With us losing so many doctors, maybe they don't want to keep their share of the hospital? I mean who wants to put their name on a mediocre hospital? And if they do that, then what do we do? We don't have the money to support it without the foundation, and I don't want a new company coming in and running this place like a company- that's what we were trying to avoid in the first place! Doctors on billboards, and OR efficiency times, and locks with codes on medications, this is a hospital, not just a business!"

"Calm down, it's just a board meeting, Meredith." Derek tried to console. He could see the spiral happening and was trying to ward it off before she went into a full rant mode. "Have you called Cristina?"

"That's just it! She's not answering her phone! She's taking a leave of absence, and she's on a plane right now to some place, and I don't even know where she's going, I forgot to ask her assistant."

"Cristina's on a plane?" The two doctors turned to see Owen standing just outside the conference room with Callie and Arizona off to his shoulder.

"A leave of absence? Yang doesn't do leaves of absences- Yang works, that's all she does." Callie pointed out, her eyes a little round at the idea of Cristina Yang abandoning her work.

"That's what I said to her assistant!" Meredith replied, "Cristina and I have been playing phone tag for the last few days, and she said she was going to do something big, that she had big news, but we kept missing each others calls, and now she's taking a leave of absence, and she's on a plane."

"Woah. That's… that's not right." Callie muttered. "I mean was there anything going on the last time you talked to her?"

"No. Last I talked to her, she was going to check on her heart, and then she had a board meeting. She was pissed that she had to wear heels, but other than that, everything was normal."

"Maybe something happened at the board meeting?" Arizona asked. It really wasn't like Cristina to walk away from her work, or to get on a plane without at least talking to Meredith about it first.

"Speaking of board meetings? Let's get started with ours." Jackson said as he came down the hall. He moved around Owen, Callie, and Arizona, and made his way through the glass doors and into the conference room.

Sighing, the group followed Jackson through the door, ready to get this over with.

* * *

"What do you mean, 'someone wants to buy the hospital'?" Derek questioned, a look of confusion crossing his face. "That's the last thing we want! That's why we did all this to get the hospital in the first place!"

"Look, I know, okay? I know. But with all the doctor's leaving, the Harper Avery Foundation is getting antsy okay?" Jackson tried to soothe.

"You mean your mom is getting antsy!" Meredith shot back.

"Yes, okay? Yes." Jackson scrubbed a hand over his face. "She's worried about having her name on something that looks like it's on it's way out. And, no respectable doctor is going to want to come here after what happened to Yang. They all know she was supposed to get the award. There was no competition, but she didn't get the award, and everyone knows it's because she worked here, and that the Harper Avery Foundation isn't going to give anyone in affiliation with them get the award. So, this is our best option! Someone buys out the foundations share, we get better doctors back into Grey Sloan Memorial, and everything goes back to normal!"

"Except the part where this new company comes in and changes everything!" Callie snarled at Jackson.

"No, that's the best part! What this new buyer is proposing is that everything stays the same! They want you all to remain on the board, they don't want to change anything. If anything they want to give us more! Who ever it is is proposing a bigger budget, better equipment, better staff. They don't even want a real say in most decisions made by the board. It's a mostly hands off approach." Jackson reasoned back.

"That's what they say, but they'll get in here and start to make little changes, and by then it will be too late to stop them from making big changes!"

"Look. Just… Just think about it okay?" Jackson asked. He dropped back into his chair at the table. He was exhausted from dealing with his mother all day, and all the surgeries, and that 16 car pile up this morning. He was running on fumes. "The new buyer should be here tomorrow, to discuss it with the everyone. All I ask is that you give them a chance, okay? The foundation can throw more money our way, but that's not going to get the best of the best in here. People want the recognition that comes with being a great surgeon, and the Harper Avery is one of the best ways to get that. And my mother isn't budging on her new 'no affiliation' policy. So just give them a chance, okay? See how you like them."

"Wait, you don't even know who it is?" Owen asked.

"No. I don't. They came at us fast, and wanted to remain anonymous until the time became necessary when their identity should be revealed."

"Jesus. Are you kidding me?" Callie snorted. "You don't even know these people. We're so screwed."

"Just go home and think about it, okay? And come in tomorrow ready to meet them." Jackson sighed. "I'm going home, it's been a long day, and tomorrow is going to be just as long." With that Jackson got up and left the room.

* * *

"This is ridiculous." Meredith muttered as they all gathered at the base of the stairs waiting for Jackson to arrive. He had called a meeting early this morning of the staff, to explain to them the situation. "He just wants to make sure we are all primped and ready to be sold off like cattle, all because his mommy doesn't want to back down on her stupid policy."

"Yeah. Hey, did you hear anything from Cristina?" Callie asked as she sipped at her coffee. Truthfully, Callie had tried to get ahold of Cristina herself, both last night and early this morning. While she was concerned about the new buyers, she was also worried about her old roommate. If not even Meredith could get ahold of her, something was definitely wrong.

"No. I tried her this morning, but nothing. I'm surprised I haven't heard anything though, I left her a message about the new buyers and everything, but nothing." Meredith muttered back, her face impassive. To be honest, she was a little annoyed at her best friend- this was something big, even Derek had come back for it, and her best friend couldn't pick up the phone and even text her? Another part of her was terrified. There was always going to be that part of all of them that was going to be worried when one of them got on a plane, and the fact that she hadn't heard from Cristina yet, kicked that fear into overdrive.

"What if something happened?" Callie fretted, her hand gripped her coffee cup a little tighter as she thought of the possibility of another crash.

"Nothing happened." Owen said firmly as he stepped up besides the group. "I called her assistant this morning. Michelle hadn't heard anything from Cristina personally, but she said that the plane reported in just fine sometime late this morning, and that Cristina was fine."

"You called-" Meredith started.

"Yes." Owen replied, not looking at any of them. He kept his eyes on the staircase, though his hands clenched tighter in his lab coat pockets.

"Okay, then. Well, at least we know she's safe." Derek soothed as he ran his hands over his wife's shoulders. Meredith hadn't slept well that night, too worried about Cristina, and the plane, and the new buyers.

"She should have called." Meredith mutter angrily.

"Yeah, she should have." Owen responded just as Jackson came down the stairs, his mother at his side.

"When did Catherine Avery get here?" Arizona muttered out the side of her mouth.

"No clue, but that's not a good sign." Derek grumbled back.

Jackson took his position on the landing before the last flight of stairs, clasping his hands nervously in front of him. "Thank you all for coming in such short notice. Now, as some of you may have heard, we have received an offer from a new buyer…"

* * *

Cristina Yang hated flying. Hated it. Every bounce of turbulence, every slight shift in position had her gripping the arm rests of her seat in the cozy cabin of the jet. Even after three shots of tequila, she still had a hard time relaxing. She kept reminding herself that she had hired this jet herself- that it had a perfect track record, and as per her request, it under went a complete inspection every time she was going to fly. Every time. And every time it came back spotless. Perfect. But that doesn't mean she wasn't scared. Terrified even.

"This is not some tiny little plane that's going to fall apart. This is not some tiny little plane that's going to fall apart. This is not some tiny little plane that's going to fall apart." she muttered under her breath, as they hit another small bout of turbulence.

"Scared of flying, Dr. Yang?" Alexandrea questioned from her position across the cabin. She had noticed how nervous Cristina had seemed from the very moment they decided to put their plans into action.

"Ah. Yeah. I was… I was in-uh- plane crash. A while back. Got stranded out in the middle of fucking nowhere for four days." She muttered as she squeezed her eyes shut. "We- ah. We lost some people in the crash, and I suffered from PTSD afterwards. And… and I don't know why I'm telling you all this."

"No worries, Dr. Yang. We all have our demons to fight." Alexandrea reassured. "We are almost there though, so it will be over soon."

"Oh, thank god." Cristina muttered as she pressed herself back into the soft cushions of her seat.

* * *

She couldn't get off that plane soon enough. The moment they touched down on solid ground she let go of the breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. It was about four in the morning here, and all she wanted now was to take a hot shower, and watch some DVDs of heart surgeries.

"Your secretary arranged for hotel rooms for us not too far from the hospital, so we should be able to check in, get some sleep, and make it there on time tomorrow." Alexandrea said softly. She liked to talk through plans, it was one of those things that made her a damn good lawyer- knowing her plan and being able to execute it perfectly. "So, lets check out a rental car, and head on over, the sooner I can get into a hot shower the better." She chuckled.

They grabbed their luggage, and made their way over to the rental desk, giving their names and registration numbers. Cristina's assistant had already arranged for their vehicle, and Alexandrea was shocked to see the choice that she had made. Opening her mouth to protest, she glanced over at Dr. Yang, only to see a small smirk playing at her full lips.

"I- ah- didn't realize rental places stocked Lotus's" Alexandrea muttered out of the corner of her mouth as Cristina accepted the keys from the valet who had pulled the low slung sports car around to meet them.

"They don't usually. Michelle must have called it in." Cristina smiled as she slid behind the wheel of the fancy car. "Must have wanted us to arrive in style."

"Oh. Well, okay then." Alexandrea said as she buckled her seatbelt. "Do you know where we are going, or should I GPS it?"

"No. I know exactly where we're going. I'll have us there in no time." With that, Cristina put the car in drive, and pulled out of the parking garage and into the early morning light.

* * *

"So what now?" Meredith asked. "We just… wait for them to show up and take over?"

They all sat in the cafeteria, picking at their respective plates. A somber feeling had settled over the hospital after Jackson's speech that morning. The place was a buzz with gossip, but no one seemed overly excited about the idea of someone taking over.

"I guess so." Callie muttered as she shoved her lettuce from one side to the other. She wasn't feeling particularly hungry, but Arizona had insisted she eat something, knowing that Callie could get cranky if she didn't have something to eat, and with the impending board meeting, it was best to have Callie in a somewhat decent mood.

"This could be good for us." Arizona tried to interject. "I mean, if they don't really want to change anything, and they are willing to expand our budget, it could be good, right?" Everyone shot her disgruntled looks at her attempt to be cheery about the situation.

"Or we're screwed." Meredith muttered back.

"We'll just have to wait and see." Derek sighed taking a bite of his meal. "Have you heard from Cristina yet?" He tried to change the subject.

"No." Meredith snarled back. It had been hours, and still no word from her friend. "What ever it is had better be damn important if she's taking this long to respond."

"I'm sure it is." Arizona agreed.

"I mean, it doesn't take much to pick up the damn phone and send someone a text." Meredith groused.

"You know she hates texting." Owen muttered back.

"Still. I'm her person. She's supposed to respond."

* * *

"Do we have everything?" Cristina questioned as she picked up her satchel briefcase.

"Yes. I have checked and double checked, everything is in order." Alexandrea watched as Dr. Yang pressed a hand to her hair, smoothing down the newly styled curls. Gone were the wild, voluptuous curls, and in their place was a more sedate style of curl. They curled away from her face in a way that was reminiscent on hollywood, and fell a full three inches longer than the usual tight curls.

"Okay. Okay." Cristina blew out with a hard breath. "And they know we're coming?"

"Yes. I confirmed everything with a Jackson Avery this morning." She checked her watch, before walking to the door of the hotel room.

"Stop fidgeting, you look fine." And it was true. Cristina was dressed in a tight fitting capped-sleeved grey dress that stopped just below the knee, muted black red-soled stiletto pumps, and a beautiful gold upper-arm band bracelet. Combined with the gorgeous, smooth curls and subtle make-up, Cristina Yang looked like a some sort of business badass. She looked like she ate hospital board members for breakfast.

Alexandrea pressed the button to the lobby on the elevator, and shifted her briefcase. "We have time to stop for coffee, and will arrive just in time to look flawless." She laughed, hoping to get Cristina to relax.

"Yes. Coffee is a definite yes." Cristina replied, already relaxing at the thought of that first cup of liquid gold. "I- I haven't had a chance to call Meredith, tell her what's going on…"

"That's good. We want this to be a surprise. Take them by storm. From the way you spoke of the situation, there shouldn't be too much of a fight, so just relax. These are your people, aren't they?"

"Yeah. Yeah, they're my people. And they're going to be pissed that I just decided to spring this on them." Cristina muttered as she started up the sleek rental car. "I didn't even tell Meredith I was in Seattle yet." Pulling away from the hotel, she navigated them into the bustling morning traffic of Seattle. She had missed this place. True, she never really explored the city that much when she was here, too concerned with surgeries, and marriages, and friendships. But, damn if she didn't miss this. The air was different in Zurich- lighter, filled with sunshine. But Seattle… Seattle had weight to it's air. That just-after-a-rain kind of weight. It felt like coming home, that first breath of Seattle air settling in her lungs like a welcoming. Today, Seattle was sunny, something that didn't happen too often here, but it felt right.

"Well, I'm sure they'll be happy to see you." Alexandrea replied. "And you did try to contact Dr. Grey several times before we actually put the plans into motion."

"We kept missing each other. This didn't feel like a conversation you just text a person, you know? Damn, I should have called her this morning."

"We had to go over what we were going to say this morning." Alexandrea reminded her as they pulled up to the coffee shop around the corner. "It's important that we are prepared for anything." They parked in the first available spot, and made their way inside of the small coffee shop that Cristina used to go to on her rare days off.

"This is the best option." Cristina muttered mostly to herself. She had been reminding herself of that from the moment she came to the decision that lead them to Seattle. "Everyone gets what they want."

"And you get a branch in Seattle. You did your residency here, right?" Alexandrea asked as they ordered their respective coffees.

"Most of my fellowship here too. This hospital raised me. I just want to see it survive." Cristina replied quietly. "No. No, I want it to thrive, to become the best there is. This hospital has so much potential, so many amazing, brilliant doctors, and they deserve the best." She said with more conviction as she reached for the coffee that had just been called up.

"So, let's give them the best, shall we?" Alexandrea replied, as they made their way back to the car. "Besides, it's hard to stay mad at the kind of money you're willing to put into this." With a laugh, Alexandrea took her first sip of coffee, relaxing as Cristina guided them back into the flow of traffic.

* * *

Dr. Owen Hunt was having a rough day. Board meetings, new buyers, and they were out of his favorite at the cafeteria. The hospital had shifted with the impending sense of doom that came with the prospect of a new buyer. Moral was low, and gossip was high- a worrying combination. People got sloppy when they were distracted, and the whole damn hospital was distracted.

"Kepner, make sure we have enough of everything stocked in the ER, and then can you check in on in Room 2132? He's been stable all morning and I want to keep it that way, especially since I'll be in that board meeting for a large chunk of the afternoon." He passed the file over to the red-headed young doctor that was taking over his ER for the afternoon while he dealt with this new buyer business.

"Sure thing, Dr. Hunt." April responded. "Good luck in there today, sir."

"Thank you." he muttered as he walked down the hall towards the conference room. He hated the idea of leaving his ER for the afternoon, hated the idea of a new buyer, hated the idea that the hospital was making all these big chances and she wasn't even here to talk to.

"Damn." He growled. He had promised himself that he was work harder to not think of Cristina, that he would work harder to get over the loss of her. She wasn't dead, she wasn't gone, at least not like that. She was doing well. Great, even. She was living her dream, surrounded by thousands of hearts for her talented little hands to fix.

' _Mine? Little geniuses._ ' Damn it. Stop thinking about her, he ordered his brain.

"Hey there, stranger!" he glanced up just as Amelia Sheppard stepped into his range of vision and press a gentle kiss to his lips. "I missed our date the other night. Want to try again tonight?" she asked, her pretty brown hair falling around her beautiful face.

"Huh, oh, yeah. Well… lets see how this board meeting goes, alright?" He responded as he automatically brought his hands up to rest on Amelia's elbows. It had almost been an entire year since Cristina left, and still the feeling of another body in his hands felt wrong, but he was trying. He was trying to find his happy again, even when the touch of another woman's lips, regardless of how pretty, and kind, and wonderful that woman was, left the sensation of burning behind. Like it was his body's way of punishing him for trying to push forward.

"Yeah. Good call, there." Amelia smiled sweetly as him. "Just text me to let me know how it all goes, yeah?"

"Yeah, no problem. I'll text you later." Owen responded as he automatically moved forward to accept the kiss Amelia had stepped forward for. Their lips had just parted as Amelia's pager beeped at them. She glanced down at it, quickly reading the information as it came across the screen.

"Oh. Consult in oncology, gotta go." She said as she step away from him. "See you later!" And with a parting smile, she took off down the hall.

' _Take care now._ ' The words popped into his head without any provocation, her voice wrapping around his brain without his consent. Damn it. Without another word he continued down the hallway.

If she would just call, or text, or Skype Meredith. Something, anything, to let them all know what she was up to. Cristina Yang taking a leave of absence was never a good sign. Cristina Yang getting willingly on a plane, and even worse sign. Talking to her assistant this morning had calmed the fear that had gripped him since he had heard that she boarded a plane, but it didn't stop the worry he felt. Cristina always got ahold of Meredith. It was the one scrap of her he had left that he could rely on to know she was alright, and now? Now she was silent.

"Hey." Meredith greeted as he same to a stop outside the conference room where she stood. "I-ah… haven't heard from her yet." She offered, knowing that he was worried about Cristina. "I'm not sure what to do at this point, and once we go into this meeting, it's back to playing phone tag if she does call…"

"Well, Cristina does things at her own pace, we all know that." Owen said trying to keep his tone light, but there was no denying the bitterness that tinged the words. Turning he saw Callie hustling down the hallway towards them.

"Did I miss anything? Are they here yet?" she asked as she glanced around to see if their new arrivals had shown.

"No, not yet. They still have close to 15 minutes before the scheduled time." Derek answered her question as he stepped up to the group. "We should probably get in there." He told them. "Settle in. Show them that this is our place."

"Yeah. Arizona is on her way up now with Jackson and his mother. Little traitor." Callie muttered the last bit under her breath.

"Is Bailey on her way?" Meredith asked. "Should we have Alex here too? I mean, I know he's not on the board technically, but he does own Cristina's share of the hospital…"

"Yeah, I paged both of them a few minutes ago. They should be here soon." Owen responded as he pushed away from his spot against the nurses station. "Well, lets get in there."

* * *

The room felt crowded. And stuffy. And too damn crowded. They had all arrived, and sat waiting in the board room for the new buyers, and Owen couldn't help but fidget with the pen in front of him.

' _Army Surgeon Badass, did something crazy with a pen on some guys throat_.' Damn it. Frustrated, he set the pen back down on the table and tried to focus on anything other than the past, and the stuffy, crowded board room.

There was only minutes left before the new buyers showed up, and everyone was anxious. Despite Jackson's reassurances that the new buyers were the best option, they couldn't afford to have someone who had never even seen the inside of the OR running the hospital. And it was always someone who had never seen the inside of an OR that seemed to want to buy hospitals. They wanted to slap their names on a hospital and play God without ever getting their hands dirty. They were concerned with the image, not the actual patients. Probably wanted to change the name too, he thought to himself as he picked at his sleeve.

The sound of heels clicking down the hallway drew their attention to the door, and it didn't take more than a moment to see two women stride across the expanse, and reach for the door, pulling it open, and stepping inside.

"Cristina?!"

* * *

 **A/N: Not the most surprising of turns, but hopefully it's gets a little less predictable- I just had to get through the first section to set the story. This will be an Cristina/Owen story, make no mistake about that. It's been years since I've actually written a fan fiction, or really anything other than term papers for that matter, so hopefully I didn't fuck it up too bad. The formatting may be a little weird, since I haven't had to use the fanfic system in a while, so just tell me if you find any mistakes, and I'll fix them. Thanks!**


	2. Chapter 2

"Cristina, what are you doing here?" Meredith questioned as she rose from her seat at the table. "I've been trying to get ahold of you for days!"

"I know, I know. I just- there wasn't time, Mer." Cristina rushed out. She shoved her sleek hair away from her face, and gripped her bag slightly tighter. "I can tell you more about it later, but for now, can we just get this over with? I want out of this dress as soon as possible."

"But- what are you doing here? You don't have any shares left in the hospital- you gave them to Alex." Meredith questioned, not fully catching up to what was happening at the moment. "How did you even know about the meeting- no one has been able to reach you. Alex? Did you get ahold of her, and not tell us?" Meredith swiveled on her heal to look at the Peds Surgeon.

"Hey, don't look at me, I didn't even try to get ahold of her." Alex defended. "Nice dress, though, Yang."

"Mer. That's why I'm here." Ignoring Alex's comment, and gathering her courage, Cristina pushed her way to the front of room, passing her friends as quickly as she could. To be honest, Cristina was nervous. The decision to come here, to buy the hospital, was an impulse. After signing the papers that granted her billions, it all hit her in a rush. She could _do_ something. She could help Grey Sloan survive, help it thrive, just like she always wanted it to. Meredith had been right- no doctors were going to come to a hospital that was a Harper Avery dead zone, and if someone who didn't understand, didn't know the hospital, came in and took over- it would fall apart, crumble out from beneath them. And Cristina _needed_ Grey Sloan to be there. It was her home. It was her reassurance that she did the right thing by going to Zurich. It was her connection to everyone she loved. She needed it. "I'm buying the foundation's share of Grey Sloan."

"What?" This time it was Callie. "How could you have that kind of money? I mean, I know the hospital over in Zurich is funded by some billionaire, but he's really okay with you buying some hospital in Seattle?"

Muttering broke out among the group, chattering about the change of events, the shock of having Cristina back in Seattle.

"Actually, Mr. Swavinski passed away from cancer recently." Alexandrea stepped forward. "He left everything to Dr. Yang here, to do with as she pleased." She set her briefcase on the table before opening it up and producing the proper documents needed for the meeting.

"He…he left you everything? Billions of dollars, Cristina?" Meredith asked, looking over at her surprisingly quiet best friend. "And you didn't think to _tell_ anyone?"

"I tried! I tried to get ahold of you, but I kept missing you, and I didn't want to just text you about it!" Cristina rallied back. Sighing, she dropped her thin frame into one of the chairs surrounding the table in front of them. She crossed her impressive legs, one over the other, and took another breath. "There wasn't enough time. I made a decision, and I stuck with it. I have… I have all this money now, and this hospital is falling apart, Mer, and I can't let that happen. I need this place to still be here, okay? So, lets just get all the legal crap out of the way, and we can go from there, okay? Alexandrea, my lawyer, already has the papers drawn up."

Taking her cue, Alexandrea addressed the doctors before her. "Typically, this sort of thing would happen without board approval. Generally, we would have contacted the Harper Avery Foundation, discussed the sale with them, and moved on without any of your say. However, Dr. Yang was adamant that you all be a part of this process. She's giving you all veto power over this decision. Should you decide not to go through with the sale, we return to Zurich, and you all return to your lives the way they are." Shuffling papers, Alexandrea pulled out the business portfolios for each of the doctors, passing them down the line. "In these folders are the outlines of the agreement. What will happen with the sale, how things will be run, what changes will be made."

"Changes? Cristina! You want to change the hospital?" Callie snarled, shocked that her former roommate would even consider it. Furious, she turned to face Jackson. "I thought you said no changes!" Jackson held his hands up in front of him, warding off the wrath of Callie and the others.

"Not those kinds of changes, Callie!" Cristina interjected. "You think I don't remember how terrible it was when Pegasus was in here trying to mess with our ORs and slapping faces on every available piece of paper they could find? I'm proposing more funding. Better equipment, add-ons to the hospital. I want new facilities for everyone, some sort of on campus housing arrangement- we have one in Zurich. It's a place to go, close by, for doctors to rest, shower, eat, whatever, and they can still be close to their criticals. I want this place to be the top teaching hospital in America. I want this place to be the best it can be." Cristina pushed, standing once more to drive the point home.

"Oh." Callie murmured. "New facilities?"

"Everything is outlined in the portfolios. I can assure you, we have the funding for all of it. Beyond new facilities and departments, Grey Sloan Memorial will remain in your hands. will not be running this hospital- she has her own hospital to worry about. This will still be your hospital. The majority of decisions will be made without her. We have outlined a protocol for major decisions made; if the decision is something that can be made without Dr. Yang, then make it. For the more major decisions, Dr. Yang will be conferenced in. In terms of funding… Well…" Alexandrea fumbled for a moment. They had talked about this beforehand, but it was still an interesting concept.

"You'll each be given a budget. Spend it however you want- I don't care. When you run out of that money, and need more for whatever, you call me, text me, whatever. Just keep me in the loop. I have lawyers and financial advisors that came with the money, so I'll consult them- make sure that spending the money isn't going to bankrupt me, and then the money will be cleared for you." Cristina took over the speech. Truthfully she didn't want to be the one dealing with all this money, but it came with saving the hospital, so she was willing to deal with it. "I know how this place runs, I know how funding works, and what needs to happen. I'm not going to screw you over. This is… _was_ my home too. So, just- just look over the proposals, and if it's something you want- we decide. Together. Just like everything else. Unanimous. If it's not something you want, then, like Alexandrea said, we all go back to our lives." Now she rubbed at her forehead. "But I think this is Grey Sloan's best shot. I think… I think this place can be amazing again, without having to compromise what it's all about."

"Where do we sign?" Derek asked as he flipped through the portfolio in front of him.

"Wait- you have to read everything, and talk it out, and… and…"

"Cristina." Derek cut her off. "You're right. This _is_ your home too. You're offering us more than anyone else could, or would. You know how everything works around here. You know how we work around here. I don't see what there is to discuss." As far as he was concerned, Cristina was still family. She was still Meredith's person, still the same dedicated, brilliant surgeon who had saved his life on more than one occasion. Cristina Yang was brilliant, and strong, and loyal. She would make Grey Sloan amazing again. He could feel it.

"Holy shit! Is that really our new budget?" Callie scrambled as she read over the figure in the portfolio once more. "That's not a typo or anything, right?"

"No. It's not a typo, Callie." Cristina said softly.

"I'm in. If that's what you're giving us, hell yes." Callie responded, a wild smile coming across her face. "Besides, it'd be nice to have you back, Yang."

"Wait. Wait, wait, wait. I'm not coming back, Callie." Cristina rushed to inform them. "I still have Zurich, and my research. It all stays the same- skyping, texting, calling, that sort of stuff. Though, if some kick ass cardio case comes in, I reserve the right to fly in and take over." She laughed, knowing that that wasn't something any of them would object to.

"So- nothing changes then?" Meredith questioned as she stared blankly at her own portfolio that she had yet to open. "You just- you go back to Zurich and act like everything is the same?" Her voice had been steadily rising. Meredith was visibly upset- from the second her person had stepped into the room, despite being angry at not being able to reach Cristina over the past few days, she was elated. Her best friend, her person was here. In Seattle. And when she said she was buying the hospital, there was a moment of relief.

 _She's coming back. She's actually coming back._ But now, now it was clear that it was going to remain the same. Back to games of Phone Tag, and texting disjointedly about their days, and Skyping at odd hours because of the time difference. For one split second, Meredith thought she had her person back. She was grateful that they had managed to remain in touch, relieved that they still were the twisted sisters, but it wasn't the same as having her here. It wasn't the same when she couldn't crawl into bed with her person after a shitty case, or see her in the hallways of Grey Sloan, or be able to catch small moments together at the cafeteria.

"Mer." Cristina muttered as she started around the table.

"So, you get to swoop in and steal surgeries, and be brilliant, then rush off back to Zurich with it's stupid sunshine?" Meredith ground out as she stood up from her seat to face her friend. "And the rest of us just sit here and be grateful that you've thrown all this money at us? Are you kidding me?" She snarled.

"Meredith, I'm trying to save this hospital. I'm trying to keep everything together. I get that you're pissed that I didn't tell you before this, but this is the best option! This gives you a fighting chance!"

"I just- I can't deal with you right now." Meredith muttered as she left the room.

Silence fell over the conference room. Not sure what to do, Cristina stood there just staring at the door her person had just walked out of. There was a moment, just a moment, when Cristina regretted her decision to come back to Seattle, to try to save the hospital. But the moment passed, it was the right choice and she knew that.

"No." She muttered, her face contorting with anger. "No. She doesn't get to walk away from this one." In a flurry of moment, Cristina Yang strode out of the room, her heels clicking ominously on the tile.

"Well. That could have gone better." Arizona said to the stunned room.

* * *

"Meredith!" Cristina called as she strode down the hallway. The heels had started to pinch, her dress felt too tight, and she needed another cup of coffee. Or maybe a shot of tequila. "Meredith- stop!" Maybe a couple shots of tequila. And vodka. What she wouldn't give for some vodka right now.

The tail of Meredith's white coat flicked out behind her as she rounded the corner, moving as fast as she could away from the callings of her person. Anger. It drove her forward, away from the clicking of expensive heels that followed her.

"Meredith, are you kidding me right now?!"

Rounding another corner, rage in full swing, Meredith failed to notice the wet floor sign that had been posted just a few feet in front of her. In some odd twist of fate, her shoes hit a slippery patch and her feet shot out from under her.

"Oh! Ow. Ow, ow." Meredith groaned as her backside made contact with the wet tile beneath her. She lay there, stunned, as Cristina's heels clicked closer. Then, in a moment, Cristina stood above her.

Smirking, Cristina looked down at her best friend and a sense of deja vu took over. "I'm not going to say you deserved that- but you deserved that." She said, repeating the words Meredith had told her when she had fallen on her ass outside of the hospital all those years ago.

They stared at each other for a moment, before busting into a fit of laughter. "At least there's no icicles to fall on you in here." Cristina said around her laughter. Still laughing, Meredith groaned and stuck out a hand for Cristina to clasp.

"Just help me up." Cristina pulled her to her feet, and another round of giggles erupted from the two women. "I guess I did deserve that."

"So, we're good then?" Cristina asked, her face becoming serious. "Because I can't buy out the Harper Avery Foundation, and throw a bunch of money your way if you don't vote yes."

They paused, just taking in the moment. Then- a smirk crossed Cristina's face, and Meredith was quick to follow.

"We're good." She said as she rubbed at her sore backside. "Let's go save the hospital. Besides it will be nice for Jackson to not have veto power anymore." She said as she linked arms with Cristina. Together, arms linked, they made their way back to the conference room.

* * *

"Well, I think it's a great idea." Derek was saying as they walked back into the room, still laughing about Meredith's fall, and the resulting wet ass she had from the mopped floor.

"Hey." Cristina said as the door swung shut behind them. Quiet greeted the two women as they stood there, until Meredith and Cristina looked to one another before busting into another round of laughter.

"W-what happened?" Callie questioned at the sight of the two women doubled over laughing. They had always been a strange pair, but generally, they weren't prone to spontaneous laughter unless tequila was involved.

"Mer-Mer- fell on her ass- in the hallway." Cristina managed between peals of laughter. However, her words just set off another round of laughing between the two.

"You fell? Are you okay?" Derek asked as he moved around the table towards his wife, stopping when she waved him off.

"I'm fine- I'm fine. Just- just a wet ass." She said as she doubled over as the laughter took over again. The rest of the room watched as the two stood there, laughing.

"So- you guys are good then?" Callie questioned, her tone tentative.

"Yeah. Yeah, we're good." Meredith said as she finally got control of her laughing. Straightening, she smiled at the rest of the board members. "And I'm in. Cristina is the best choice for this hospital."

Smiling, Cristina made her way back to where Alexandrea sat at the table. "So, did everyone get a chance to look it over better?" She asked as she smoothed down the front of her dress.

"We did, and I think we are all in." Derek responded as he smiled over at his wife. At Cristina's searching look the rest of the room nodded, agreeing with Derek's assessment. Everyone but Owen, who sat in the same chair he started in, staring down at the front of the portfolio he had been given.

"Owen?" Cristina prodded gently. She had done her best not to look at him since she had gotten here. Being near him always brought on a rush of emotions. The desire to wrap her arms around him and hold tight surged to the forefront of her mind before she could stop it. Clasping her hands tightly in front of her she tried to check the impulse that threatened to overwhelm her. Gathering her strength, she prepared herself for his brilliant blue eyes to meet hers. Despite all her preparations of seeing him again, one look and her heart leapt to her throat.

"Huh?" He asked, a little shocked at being addressed.

"Do you agree? The decision has to be unanimous." Cristina pushed onward, never breaking eye contact.

"I'm- I'm not really part of the board." He said softly. "I don't have any shares in the hospital or anything."

"No, but you're Chief of Surgery. It's your hospital too." She reminded him. It mattered to her whether or not he was okay with it. If he was okay with _her_. "The decision has to be unanimous, and if you don't want this deal, then there is no deal."

"Oh. Well, it's an amazing deal." He said as he broke eye contact. Blue eyes drifted back to the portfolio in front of him. "I agree. It's the best thing for the hospital." It sounded dispassionate to his own ears and he fought the urge to wince.

"Well, then!" For the first time since the start of the meeting, Catherine Avery spoke. She clasped her hand in front of herself and smiled widely. "Let's sign these papers then!"

* * *

"Oh, thank god." Cristina muttered as she kicked her shoes off. The meeting had drawn to a close, and all the appropriate documents had been signed. Cristina was officially the main share holder in Grey Sloan Memorial hospital, and now all she wanted was to get out of her dress and into the pair of sweats she had packed with her.

"So, what now?" Meredith asked as she dropped into the seat next to Cristina, who had started to roll the kinks out of her neck.

"Now?" Cristina muttered her head dropping back to rest on the back of the chair.

"Yes, now. Do you stay for a little while? Do you head back to Zurich?" Meredith smiled over at her friend.

"Now, we gather the troops, and head to Joe's for some tequila." Cristina turned her head to smirk back at Meredith. "But first- I need to get out of this damn dress. I'm going to go change. See if Derek wants to come, and call a sitter or something, then meet me at Joes." Standing, she gathered her heels in one hand, and started off down the hall barefoot.

* * *

Owen Hunt needed a drink. From the second she had stepped into the room, he had needed a drink. She had been beautiful. So damn beautiful it was as if she had stepped out of one of his dreams. Long, beautiful hair had cascaded over her slim, strong shoulders. The dress had hugged every curve of her body, a body he knew better than anyone else's. Gorgeous long legs seemed even longer when paired with the pretty heels she had chosen to wear that day. It swamped his head, weighed down his entire body, leaving him unable to move.

When she had announced she was buying the hospital, he heart had leaped into overdrive, pounding an imprint into the inside of his ribs. But he knew not to get his hopes up. He knew Cristina. Knew her inside and out, and he knew she wasn't going to given up the hospital in Zurich just because she owned Grey Sloan Memorial. And he had been right. But to hear her laugh again. To see her light up with humor as she stood there with Meredith had been exquisite torture.

And now? Now he needed a drink. Ignoring the few texts he had received from Amelia, he grabbed his coat and made his way to Joes.

* * *

The bar was in full swing that night. Various doctors and interns spread out among the small dimly light area, drinks were being served at a steady rate, and music played in the background, washed out by the rest of the noise.

Sighing, he made his way through the crowds, smiling briefly at the various people who threw hellos his way.

"Hey! Dr. Hunt! What can I do for you tonight?" Joe asked from behind the bar as he poured shots for the group of giggling interns at the end of the bar.

"Single malt scotch, Joe." He said over the din of the bar.

"Rough day?" Joe asked, grabbing a glass off the shelf. Dr. Hunt had become a regular at Joe's, always ordering his single malt scotch, never wavering from his new found favorite drink.

"Ha. Yeah, you could say that." Owen muttered back as he reached out to accept the drink that Joe pushed over the counter. "Looks like you guys are doing well tonight, though."

"Yeah. Friday nights, always packed with your baby interns looking to pour shots down their throats, not that I mind- at least until they start throwing up everywhere." Joe shot a look at one of the blonde interns that had had an vomiting incident last week. He was hoping tonight wouldn't be a repeat performance, and promised himself he would cut her off sooner this time.

"Babies." Owen scoffed lightly, "Can't hold their liquor." Owen chuckled as he moved away from the bar to find a table off to the side. It was going to be a long night. Which, with how his day had gone, seemed fitting.

He hadn't been ready. He still wasn't ready. To see her. To hear her voice. He had been _trying_ , damn it. He had been trying so hard to forget her, and as much as it hurt, he had been trying. He hadn't realize just how colorless everything had seemed until she stepped into that room today, looking like the solution to everything that ailed him. She stepped into that room, and the world became a shock of color, from the inky black of her hair to the red-soles of her fuck-me pumps. There was a time, a time that seemed not that long ago, when the sight of her in those pretty little heels would have had him pulling her into an on-call room, would have had him pressing her against the door as her legs wrapped tightly around his waist, those heels digging into his ass.

Now, though, now he sat alone in a bar sipping on his scotch. He tapped the bottom of the glass a few time on the table, thinking over everything that had just transpired. She was back, but she wasn't. He was with Amelia, but he wasn't- not really.

He and Amelia had been on a few dates, had hooked up, had tentatively moved into the phase of exclusivity, but it was like going through the motions for him. Like he was trying to bury the memories of wild curls with sleek brown hair, the memories of that rare beautiful smile with sweet teasing glances. He had been washing out the years of take-out food with the home cooked meals that Amelia seemed to favor. He had been trying to burn Cristina out of his system, but he knew that he still had the pictures from when they were happy tucked away in his nightstand. That he still had a soft Stanford t-shirt that was worn in all the right ways tucked under his pillows so he could hold on to it on the nights he struggled to find sleep. It had lost her scent a while ago, but on the particularly hard nights it helped to hold on to it and remember the nights when he would slip into bed with her, finding soft skin under that t-shirt as he wrapped his arms around her thin waist.

Amelia liked silk. She had tons of silky camisoles that she would wear to bed, liking the way they felt on her skin, but Owen spent most of his nights with her longing for the feeling of soft worn down cotton. No matter how hard he fought against it, his entire being still ached for Cristina.

Single Malt Scotch. Single. Malt. Scotch. Damn it. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

"Okay, I got a sitter for Zola and Bailey, and I've checked on all of my patients that needed it, I am officially off for the night." Meredith said as she dug through her bag to double check that she had her cell phone and pager, just in case.

"Mmm. Good. I'm all set to go too, Amelia is on call tonight, so she's got my patients covered, and I just heard from Torres. Arizona has an early morning surgery, so she's got Sophia for the night, which means Torres is free for drinks at Joes. Did you talk to Karev?" Derek asked as he pressed a kiss to his wife's cheek.

"He's on his way over now, said he'd grab us a table or a spot at the bar. Friday nights are always packed nowadays since the interns found the bar. Like locust." Meredith muttered back, remembering the conversation she and Cristina had had when Cristina was still in Minnesota. Derek laughed at the comparison, wrapping an arm around her waist as they started out the doors of the hospital.

"When's Cristina going to get there?" he asked as they stepped out into the fresh air.

"She said she was going to run back to her hotel, and change, then she'd be there." Meredith replied. "It feels so good to have her back, even if she's not staying. I was beginning to wonder if I was ever actually going to see her in person again." She laughed, though the statement remained true. Meredith had begun to wonder if Cristina would ever step foot in Seattle again. Sure, she sent gifts for Zola and Bailey's birthdays, and had even made sure to Skype Meredith on hers. They had even done a shot together, over Skype, for Meredith's birthday, even though it was only though it was only 9 am in Zurich at the time, but it wasn't the same as actually being able to go over to Joe's and have a drink like they were doing tonight.

"Yeah. It's good to have her back. Even if it's just for a little while." Derek smiled down Meredith before pressing a kiss to her temple, knowing how much his wife had missed her person. He was long passed the days of resenting the bond that the two women had, and like he had said, while Cristina wasn't someone her would have chosen for his family initially, she was his family. She had been there through every rough patch, through every dangerous situation they had found themselves in, and even though there were times when she slipped and couldn't handle it anymore, she always came back, just like family was supposed to do. "It's good to have her home."

* * *

They stepped into the bar and looked around for any sign of Karev or Torres, before spotting them, fending off the interns at their spot from the bar.

"Alright, alright. Scram, interns!" Alex shouted over the noise, his voice gruff. "This area is officially reserved for actual doctors tonight! Don't you have patients to look after? Jeeze. I hate slow days at the hospital, gives them all time to have an actual life" he muttered the last part to Callie, who laughed at the truth of the statement.

"Scoot over, babies!" Callie joined in, waving her hands at the group of interns that were still hovering close to the bar in hopes of getting their next round of drinks quicker. After a little bit of grumbling, the interns moved away from the seats that Alex and Callie had been trying to commandeer for the night. After working with the same Attendings for the past few months, they knew when to pick their battles, and as much as the interns didn't like it, the two doctors where pulling rank tonight, so unless they wanted on scut for the foreseeable future, they knew when to clear out.

"Got a party coming in, Karev?" Joe laughed from behind his bar as he watched the disgruntled interns shuffle off to other corners of the bar.

"Hell yeah, Joe! Yang's back in town!" Alex smirked over the counter. "Swooped in in some sexy dragon lady business getup and bought out the Harper Avery's share of the hospital- and now, we celebrate! We're going to need some tequila when she gets here." He laughed over the crowd. Joe returned the laugh, and smiled when he spotted Meredith and Derek in the sea of people that had taken over the bar.

"Alex!" Meredith called as she and Derek pushed their way through the crowd, claiming two of the open seats at the bar.

"Hey! Dr. Grey! Dr. Shepard! So, Dr. Yang's back in town?" Joe asked, as he pulled out his best bottle of tequila for the occasion.

"Damn right she is!" Meredith laughed. "She's not staying around for long, but we've got her for a few days at least before she jet-sets back to Zurich, and we are going to make the best of it!"

"She meeting you guys here then?" Joe asked as he set about pouring the tequila and setting up the required limes that the group was going to need. "That would explain why Dr. Hunt is here tonight- though he didn't look like he wanted to celebrate much."

"Owen's here?" Meredith questioned, swiveling on her stool to search him out in the crowd.

"Yeah, came in a little bit before Karev and Torres got here, he's over that way, maybe you should let him know that you guys are all sitting up here."

"Yeah. Yeah, I'll go talk to him." Meredith said as she spotted the trauma surgeon off to the side. She slid of her seat, and worked her way through the crowd. "Hey." She said as she came up to his table. He was staring intently at his glass of scotch, lost in thought.

"Huh? Oh, hey, Meredith." Owen responded, his eyes a little lost as they jumped up to her face. "Didn't know you guys where going to be here tonight." He paused for a moment, looking passed her to the group at the bar. "Is- uh- is she going to be here?" he asked when he didn't see her at the bar with the group of friends.

"Yeah. She's changing and making her way back here. You should come sit with us. I'm sure she'd be happy to see you." Meredith paused, debating over her next words. "She- uh- she's asked about you when she calls me from Zurich…" Meredith knew Cristina would be pissed at her for revealing that little secret, but she couldn't help it- he looked so lost, sitting there with his drink, glancing around in some vain attempt to see if Cristina had arrived yet. "I'm sure she'd like to hear how you are from someone other than me."

"Oh. Uh. Maybe not." He muttered before going back to swirling the amber liquid in his glass. "It's a celebration, I'm sure she wants to catch up with everyone, you know, drink and talk about the hospital…"

"All the more reason to come sit with us." Meredith pressed. She knew what a shock it was to see Cristina again, but they didn't have much time with her here in Seattle, and she felt like it might be good for Owen to just… see her. "I'm sure she'd really like you to be over there with us."

"No, thanks for the offer, but I think I'll just stay here. It looks a little crowded up there." He muttered as he took another sip of his drink.

"Well… alright then, but don't be afraid to change your mind." Meredith said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder. She offered him a small smile that he didn't see, and made her way back to her seat at the bar.

* * *

"Dr. Yang!" Joe yelled jovially as he spotted her pushing her way passed people. He'd know that head of wild curls anywhere. "They're all two shots ahead of you, so you better catch up!" He laughed as she claimed a seat at the bar in-between Meredith and Callie.

"Better make the first one a double then, Joe." She smiled as she shoved her curls out of her face, and dropped her purse the over the back of her chair.

"You got it, Dr. Yang"

"Hey, you showered!" Meredith said, as she reached out to tug playfully at Cristina's newly instated kinky-curls. The liquor had already started to set it, and she felt her body loosening up. Being a mom and a surgeon had really cut into her drinking time, that and not having her drinking buddy in the same continent as her; her tolerance for tequila seemed to be lower than she remembered.

"Yeah, needed to feel a bit like myself again." Cristina smiled back at the happy face of her friend. "Thanks, Joe." She broke away to accept the double shot of tequila that Joe slid across the bar at her. Grabbing the salt shaker and a lime, she poured a liberal amount of salt to her hand. Smiling, she hit the salt, slammed the drink, and shoved the lime between her teeth. As the taste of the tequila passed, she dropped the lime and tossed out a laugh.

"Anddddd she's back!" Karev yelled, laughing at the familiar sight of Cristina Yang throwing back shots like a champ. Meredith raised her hands in the air and let out a joyful 'whoop' before ordering another round of single shots. It wasn't often she got a chance to drink, and now that her drinking buddy was back, her person was back, she wasn't going to waste any of that time getting half-heartedly drunk.

"Let's get this party started!" Callie called out as she bumped shoulders with her former roommate.

* * *

Four more shots in, and Meredith was tipping in her chair. Derek, who had switched to beer, laughed as he gripped her waist to right her. It had been a while since he had seen Meredith this happy, this relaxed, and even though she was going to have one hell of a hangover tomorrow morning, he was perfectly okay with letting her have her fun tonight.

The music switched to an upbeat tune the both Meredith and Cristina recognized at once. It had them jumping up from their seats, and laughing as they stumbled their way to the make-shift dance floor that had assembled some time ago.

They watched as the two women danced about, laughing as they sang along to a song that proclaimed that they were 'sexy,' and they knew it. Karev laughed as the memory of their boards celebration party came to his mind, and he pushed away from the counter to join to two other remaining members of the small intern group that they had once been.

"What do you say, Shepard, wanna show them how it's done?" Callie asked as she set down the shot she had just tossed back.

He laughed at her suggestion, before deciding that in the spirit of the celebration it couldn't hurt. "Sure, why the hell not?" He smirked before offering his hand to Callie. Smiling, they joined their group on the dance floor.

* * *

He watched her from his spot at his table. He had felt the moment she walked through the door, like a zing of energy across his skin, the same zing that he had always gotten when they used to make eye-contact in the hallways at the hospital. Turning, he watched as she made her way to the bar, her pretty curls back to their normal voluptuous state. She still worn a tight leather jacket, though this one was black instead of the old brown one she generally favored. It wrapped around her like a second skin over the tight tank top she had on. The same tank top that rode just a bit above her hips, leaving a small strip of skin between the hem of the shirt and the low set jeans she worn. He could remember a time when he would have slid his hand around her waist, sliding his thumbs over that small strip of skin as he pressed in behind her, his face pushed against the brilliant curls that always seemed to smell like home.

She jumped up onto her bar stool, laughing at something Joe had said to her, before grabbing the double shot of what was undoubtably tequila, and throwing it back as smoothly as if she had never left. As if she still spent her nights off sitting at that exact bar stool, with her friends around her, tossing back shots of tequila with ease.

Ordering another drink from a server that was making her rounds, Owen leaned back in his chair, and watched as the group laughed and her curls bounced every time they tipped their heads back with another shot. He knew he was just torturing himself by remaining in his seat, watching as each round of laughter tipped her head back and offered him a look at her face. She had washed off the makeup she had been wearing earlier, and looked so much like she had before she got on that plane for Zurich.

Eventually, the bar had progressed into the inevitable dance party that always seemed to form on nights like this, and he watched as they had left the bar and moved their way to the space of bar that the interns had pushed tables out of the way to create the small dance floor. Like nothing had every changed the two women fell into their old habit of dancing it out, the tequila loosening them up enough to allow them to let go in the very public setting.

"I heard she's working on printing a functioning heart!" he heard somewhere behind him. Turning slightly he focused on the group of people that had stopped playing darts to watch the two women dance. They yelled to be heard over the loud music and chatter, and Owen was able to hear the conversation well enough from where he sat.

"She's amazing!" Another one responded, his eyes traveling over the fit body of Cristina as her hips moved to the beat of the song. Owen clenched his jaw at the look, recognizing the once-over for what it was. "Did you hear about the tumor she managed to remove from that eleven year old girl? Heard it was the size of a softball, and so intertwined with the heart vessels that everyone else had written the girl off as dead. Yang went in there and removed the thing like a badass. Twenty hours in surgery. Can you imagine?"

"She's so freaking cool." One of the pretty redheaded interns sighed. "I heard she left the hospital because the Harper Avery Foundation screwed her out of her first Harper Avery."

"That award was so her's- I looked into the other nominations for the award that year, and she had it by a freaking mile. Rumor is that she even had the votes for it, but the foundation decided to make their own decision."

"I can't believe she's friends with Medusa, though!"

"Heard they were best friends since their first year interning. Though, from what was said, Yang is even worse than Medusa. Molly, the pretty doctor in derm, said she was like some emotionless robot. It's no wonder her work is so precise, she's got robotics under that skin!" He watched as the group shared a laugh at the stupid joke, his eyes narrowing at the mention of Cristina's lack of social graces. Sure, she wasn't the most sensitive, or socially interactive, but she was amazing- both as a person and a surgeon. She could be selfish at times, but who wasn't? And she wasn't unaware of her flaws. She knew who she was, and what she wanted, and it was always something that Owen had found insanely attractive about her, even when they were fighting over her stubbornness.

"Oh! Oh, shit. She's coming this way!" The interns scrambled, attempting to look as if they hadn't been staring and gossiping about the brilliant surgeon. A moment of humor washed over him as he watched them nervously try to look busy, throwing darts that didn't even come close to the mark. It took a moment before their words clicked in his mind.

 _"She's coming over here."_ By the time he realized what was happening, he twisted in his chair, coming face to face with he ex-wife, who had stopped at a slight wobble in front of him. She stood there for a moment before dropping into the seat across from him.

"Hey." She said softly. Even over the music he could hear her perfectly, so attuned to her that it was there was no other sound but her.

"Hey." he muttered back, his voice coming out low and deep. Intimate. Damn.

"You didn't want to come sit with us?" She asked, her hands folding in front of her on the table, eyes meeting his with a searching look.

"I didn't want to interrupt. It's been a long day, and I didn't want to bring the party down." He responded, forcing his hands to remain still as ached to reach across the table and touch hers. "Besides, I'm not much one for tequila shots." He tried his hand at humor, trying to excuse his absence from the celebration with his choice of drink.

"You know that doesn't matter" She replied, not giving an inch.

"Yeah. I know." Feeling slightly ashamed he torn his eyes from hers and settled them back on his drink. Silence washed over them, leaving her to fiddle with her hands in the absence of conversation.

"I-" She started, her voice steady despite the amount of tequila she had consumed. She took a breath, pushing it out slowly before continuing what she had started to say. "I need to know where we're at." She squared her shoulders, the nervous fidgeting of her hands stopping as she pressed them flat against the table. "I don't mean- I mean… I don't mean like that. I know that you're with Amelia and everything now, Mer told me awhile ago. But I was… I was wondering if we could try- try to be… I don't know. Friends? Or something…"

He felt it kick him in the chest. _Friends_. It was the last thing he wanted from her. He wanted his forty years again. He wanted cereal for dinner, wanted surgical videos stacked next to take-out containers, wanted to wake up to the mass of curls that used to spread across his pillow. He wanted her full lips pressed to his, wanted clothes that left a trail behind her on the floor, wanted upbeat music playing in his kitchen as she dance about in nothing but his old Harvard t-shirt. He wanted everything, not just _friends_.

"I know that's a lot to ask, after- after everything. But… I don't know. I just- miss you. You know?" It took a lot for Cristina to admit something like that, to take the step towards admitting she had a weakness. She was always the strong one. She was the one that stuck with him through his PTSD, the one that bought him the firehouse, the one that asked to try again after everything that had happened. And now, in the new After, she was asking again. But it was different. It was a weak imitation of "trying again." It was _"friends._ "

"I miss you too." He said softly, still not able to fully look at her. He twisted his glass in his hands, trying to block out his conflicting feelings. A part of him wanted to tell her that they were passed the point of being friends, to tell her that he had moved on and no longer had room for her in his life. In his heart. But there was that hollow part that ached in his heart. The part of him that he had always left wide open for her to make her home in. Because he _hadn't_ moved on. He hadn't been able to fill in the hollow part of him that she had left when she boarded that plane to Zurich. And he knew he wouldn't be able to fill it, no matter how hard he tried.

He sat there, twisting his scotch in his hands, feeling her gaze on him- something he hadn't felt in the months she had been gone. Was it worth it? Was it worth having even a small part of that ache be soothed with just her presence back in his life? She wouldn't be _his_. She wouldn't be sleeping next to him at night, dancing in his kitchen, pressing kisses to his lips, but she would be here. He would be able to talk to her, to grab drinks with her, to remember what it feels like to have color in his life. He had missed that color, that brilliance, so much.

"Yeah. We can be friends." The words were pulled from his mouth before he could rationally think about what he was saying. His body made the choice for him- his mouth forming the words, his heart betraying his head as it often did when it came to her. He gathered his strength and brought his gaze back up to hers. His heart pounded harshly in his chest as he was rewarded with a soft smile that tugged at her lips.

"Okay." She said softly, standing from her seat at the table. Straightening her jacket, and tucking a particularly stubborn curl behind her ear, she smile at him once more. "Okay, then. Come join us." She suggested, the look in her eyes telling him that he didn't have much of a choice.

Tossing back the rest of the liquid in his glass, he unfolded his tall frame from the chair and allowed her to lead the way back to the bar where he was greeted by the rest of the Grey Sloan Memorial crew.

* * *

They stumbled out of the bar at last call. Giggling, Meredith and Cristina clung to each other, their feet not cooperating well with the simple motion of walking straight. Arms hooked tightly around one another as they swayed on the sidewalk. Derek had stopped drinking long ago, and followed behind, chuckling as he watched to two women tip over their own feet, movements uncoordinated, and speech slurred. Owen, who had also stopped drinking earlier in the night, walked next to Derek, Cristina's jacket slung over his arm. She had protested when he had tried to get her to put it back on, stating that it was too hot to be wearing leather.

They walked along the strip of sidewalk, stumbling roughly in the direction of their cars. Derek was taking Meredith home, and Owen was going to call Cristina cab. Karev and Callie had already made their way to their respective homes, leaving behind the twisted sisters and their respective babysitters.

"Oh! Oh, shit!" Meredith drew up short, causing Cristina to stumble slightly at the sudden change of movement. "The babysitter! I f-forgot to call the babysitter to tell- to um…. to tell her that- that we would be late!" She fumbled her way through her explanation, her speech disoriented.

"Don't worry about it. I called hours ago." Derek responded as he smiled at his endearing wife.

"Oh. Okay, then." And with a brilliant smile, Meredith and Cristina continued their rough walk.

"Man, it's been awhile since I've seen them this gone." Owen muttered to Derek. Truth be told, Drunk Cristina had always been a source of amusement for him. After a certain point into the night she always would started talking about surgeries, ones she had done, ones she had seen, ones that she wanted to do. She would stumble over simple words, but managed to pronounce the medical jargon perfectly, no matter how drunk she got. Tonight, she had started to discuss surgeries, though she forgot to use English. Instead, she had started speaking in a mix of French and German, the two dialects mixing together in a way that left her nodding sagely, and the rest of them laughing until tears fell. He hadn't felt this good in a very long time. It was the kind of good that he only associated with Cristina. The kind of happy that he only associated with Cristina. He hadn't used up his happiness, apparently. It was just tied tightly to Cristina, something that really came as no surprised to him.

"Ha. Yeah, it's been a long time since Meredith let go this much. It's nice to see though." Derek responded as they reached the parking lot. It was mostly empty, save for a few cars here and there.

"Oh- oh, oh, oh!" Cristina jabbered drunkenly. "I- I think I lost my car." She looked around the parking lot, in search of her car. Fumbling for her keys, she clicked the key fob, looking around confusedly for her car lights to blink. When the sleek, low-slung sports cars lights blinked back at her, she tipped her head to the side, her mind not fully catching up. Remembering, a little late in the game, that she didn't have _her_ car here, but the flashy Lotus, she brightened, and let out a laugh. "Oh, yeah. Rental." She said as she disengaged from Meredith, and started towards the car.

"Woah. Woah, woah." Owen said as he rushed forward to stop her from getting into the car. His hands wrapped around her thin shoulders, soft skin teasing his palms. Gently, he pulled her back towards him, keeping her in check. "You're definitely not driving tonight. Remember? Drinking and driving is bad." Laughing, Cristina leaned her body back against his, her head tipping back to look up at him.

"Oh, yeah." She giggled back at him. She closed her eyes, and sagged heavily into his arms. Reacting quickly, Owen slid his hands down her shoulders and got a better grip on her body. Laughing, he bent at the knees and scooped her up, bridal style. Cristina slung her arms around his neck, her head dropping into the hollow where his neck met his broad shoulders.

Turning back to where Derek stood with his arm around his wife, holding her upright, he shook his head in amusement. "Can you grab her keys and lock the car up again? I don't think she'll make it until the cab gets here. I'll drive her back to her hotel."

"Sure, sure." Derek said as he took the keys back out of Cristian's purse. He clicked the button, making sure the lights on the car blinked indicating that it had locked before returning the keys to her purse. "You sure you're okay with her?" Derek asked quietly. He had been worried for Owen since it had really sunk in that Cristina was back. He knew how Owen felt about her, he had even tried to warn his little sister off, telling her that she would never have claim to the red-headed trauma surgeon's heart. Amy had laughed it off, saying she liked a challenge, but Derek always knew that if Cristina ever came back to Seattle, and it came down to a choice- he would pick Cristina every time. He had already resigned himself to his sister getting hurt, but he had tried to warn her, and he couldn't be mad at Owen; he knew how it felt, to have someone so deeply engrained into your very being that you'd choose them, no matter what. Still. He was worried about Owen. It had taken him a long time to finally leave the trailer in the woods, and even longer time for him to stop looking as if someone had ripped his heart out, and now, Cristina was here, in his arms, and it looked right, but wrong, all at once.

"I'll be fine." Owen responded as he shifted Cristina's weight to reach for his own keys. "I'll just take her back to the hotel, and I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay." Derek responded as he ushered his stumbling wife into their own car.

Turning, Owen made his way over to his truck. He got the door open, and gently settled his ex-wife into the seat, buckling her in as she blinked in confusion.

"What hotel are you at?" He asked as he started his truck.

"The firehouse." Cristina mumbled, her delicate hand flailing softly to his his shoulder.

"Cristina, we don't have the firehouse anymore, remember?" Owen swallowed around the lump that had formed in his throat.

"No. No, I-I bought it. I bought it after I left for Zurich. Mer. Mer knew. She- uh- she moved my stuff out of storage. P-put it all back where it belongs-belonged?" She paused to question her word choice. "Belonged."

"You bought the firehouse?" Owen asked incredulously. "Again?"

"Yeah. Couldn't… didn't want anyone else living there. Plus, if- if Mer needed a place, you know, to get away, she has a key." Cristina had closed her eyes again, her head lolling against the seat's headrest.

"Oh… okay." Owen muttered quietly, his heart skipping as he processed her drunken words. She didn't want anyone else living there. Didn't want some new couple moving into the place that they had made their home when they first started out. He looked over at her once more, her beautiful face slack with inebriation. Sighing, he put the truck into drive and pulled out of the parking lot, heading in the familiar direction of their old home.

* * *

He pulled up to the dark firehouse, after cutting the engine, he climbed out of the truck. For a moment he just looked up at the high archway that used to mean he was home. Swallowing hard, he made his way to the other side of the truck, opening the door and unbuckling the still slack Cristina. He carefully lifted her out of the truck, once again settling her in his arms before shutting the door.

"Cristina. Cristina, I need the key." Owen muttered gently into her ear as he reached the door.

"It's….hmmm." She snuggled in tightly to his body, her mind telling her that she had actually finished her sentence and that Owen would take care of it.

"Cristina."

"Huh? Oh. It's- uh- it's on my ring. My key ring." She said, as she squirmed slightly to reach into her purse. She pulled her hand out of the bag, her keys clasped triumphantly in her hand. Shifting through the various keys, she eventually found the correct key and twisted her body towards the door. It took a few tries but she managed to get the key into the correct slot and unlocked the door, despite Owen's rumbling laughter.

Nudging the door open, Owen carried her over the threshold, before kicking the door shut behind him. He made his way up the narrow steps, but stopped at the landing. Their bed was still positioned across the room, nightstands still held pictures of them. A throw was tossed over the back of the low to the ground couch that they used to spend their evenings on, and medical journals were scattered across the table in front of the tv.

There were a few things missing- things he assumed she took to Zurich, things he had taken with him when he left, but it looked the same for the most part. Her purple comforter was still sprawled across the expanse of the bed, their wedding picture was still on his side of the bed. It hit him hard and he fought to breathe. Frozen, he stared at the place that had once been their safe haven, until Cristina let out a soft groan and tightened her grip on his t-shirt.

He started forward, towards their- _her_ \- bed, his feet remembering the path easily, even in the darkness that encompassed the room. With one hand, he tugged back the purple comforter, and settled her softly on the mattress. He reached down, tugging off the black boots she had chosen to wear that night. He made a move to pull the covers over her, but Cristina had other ideas. Fighting the covers, she started tugging at her jeans, becoming frustrated when the button and zipper stopped their descent. Groaning, she fumbled with the restraints of her pants, she kicked her feet slightly when they refused to give.

Laughing, Owen covered her hands with his own. "Here, here. Let me." Deftly, he unbuttoned her jeans, and helped her wiggle out of them. Long, silky legs were exposed with every inch, leaving her in nothing but her tiny tank top and the small scrap of lacy fabric that served as her underwear. Resisting the urge to slide his hand up the length of her leg, he pulled the covers over her, successfully this time. Snuggling in, she gripped the edge of the covers, pulling them in tightly. She let out a hum of contentment, before dropping off, dead to the world.

Sighing, he stared down at her. _'Friends_.' he reminded himself. ' _Just friends_.' Standing, he took one last look at the firehouse, his heart aching, before going to the kitchen. He found the aspirin, in the same cupboard they always kept it in, and poured her a glass of water. Setting the two items on the night stand, he paused to look at the framed picture of the two of them, before shaking his head, and making his way out of the firehouse, and back to his truck.

* * *

 **A/N: picking up speed here. Hopefully, I managed to keep everyone fairly in character. Again, if there are any mistakes, just let me know.**


	3. Chapter 3

The hangover was worth it, Meredith decided as she squinted in the light that filtered persistently through her blinds that morning. Somewhere in the house Zola let out a high pitched squeal of delight that had Meredith wincing, but it was worth it. It had been so long since she had gone out, since she had drank anything other than the respectable glass of wine that adults drank after the kids went to bed. The hangover hurt, true, but feeling more like her old self? Worth it.

"Good morning!" Derek entered the room, his disposition much cheerier than Meredith's at the moment.

"Ugh. Why aren't you hungover?" Meredith questioned her husband as she tried to hide her head under one of the pillows.

"Because I stopped after a few shots and a beer." Derek smiled as he dropped onto the bed. "You, my dear wife, kept going until the bar closed down."

"Oh, yeah." Meredith muttered, the sound muffled by the pillow. "Good night, though."

"That it was, you seemed happy." He said as he reached out to squeeze one of Meredith's blanket covered feet. "Having Cristina around always did bring out the party animal in you." Derek chuckled at the memory of the two dancing around the bar.

"Ughhhh." She drew out as she tossed the pillow aside, and rolled to her back. "Tequila will be the death of me."

"There are worse ways to go." Derek reminded her. "Worth it?" He asked, watching as Meredith squinted at their ceiling. He waited as she lifted her head a bit to look at him.

"Definitely worth it."

(Line Break)

Dressed in last night's clothing and some sunglasses she had scrounged up at the firehouse, Cristina Yang cursed Seattle's weather.

"Of all the days to be sunny…" She growled under her breath as she navigated traffic. "I trusted you, Seattle. I trusted you to be rainy, and overcast, and not so damn chipper. And you've betrayed me."

After a moment of panic at waking up back in the old firehouse, Cristina located her pants, and poured herself into a cab to take her back to the parking lot by Joe's where she had left the rental the night before. Now, she navigated traffic, glaring into the sunshine that seemed to mock her. "If I wanted sunshine, I would have stayed in Zurich."

Still grumbling under her breath, Cristina saw an opening in traffic, and punched her accelerator, sliding seamlessly in to the space that had presented itself, ignoring the blast of horns behind her. The sooner she got back to her hotel the better. Her phone had died sometime during the previous night and it was never a good thing for a doctor, let alone the owner of not one, but two, major hospitals, to have her phone be dead. People needed to be able to reach her, almost twenty-four seven, and she was certain that the second her phone charged there would be a flood of texts, emails, and voicemails.

Knowing she was in for a long morning, Cristina sighed. There truly was no rest for the wicked.

(Line Break)

She waited for the phone to come back to life as she sipped her coffee. The liquid gold seemed to be doing the trick as it started to push back the remains of her pounding headache and residual lethargy. She had yet to change out of her clothes from the night before, promising herself a hot shower once she took a look to make sure there was nothing that needed her immediate attention on her phone.

With a soft chime, the phone announced its return to life, and Cristina set down her mug to enter her passcode, watching as multiple notifications scrolled across the screen. She flicked through them all, taking note of the emails that were the most important, and the texts she had received from Shane the night before. Fortunately, they were all pretty standard, and, congratulating herself on a job well done, she grabbed her coffee once more and made her way to the shower.

(Line Break)

The hospital was a buzz with the news. Cristina Yang had returned to Seattle. She had swooped in and bought out the foundations portion of the hospital. Rumors ran rampant; everything thing from how she was going to turn the hospital into a strictly cardio facility, to how she was going to tear the entire place down, had swept through the halls of Grey Sloan Memorial hospital. It was madness.

Caught up in that madness, a group of interns stood by the nurses station, rapidly whispering about the potential new changes that were about to sweep the hospital.

"Did I call a meeting of the interns, or is there something I don't know about?" Dr. Bailey said as she came to stand behind the small group. Despite her short stature, Dr. Bailey was still widely feared, particularly by the interns. Living up to her nickname, she commanded attention and respect anywhere she went, and she took great pleasure in watching the interns jump in fright at the sound of her voice.

"Uh- no- no, Dr. Bailey, there- uh- wasn't a meeting called." One of the interns were feeling brave today it appeared. Brave and stupid, apparently.

"I know that, Evans." Miranda snarked. "I know that because if there was a meeting called, I would have been told about it. And since there wasn't a meeting called, and I know that, I'm wondering what all of the interns are doing, standing around, doing absolutely nothing, instead of helping people in this hospital, like you're supposed to do. Or did we forget that we are doctors, today?" She applied the right amount of sass to her voice, having perfected the technique years ago.

"N-no, ma'am, we didn't forget." They all stood huddled together, eyes shifty.

"You didn't? Then why are you all still standing in front of me? Go! Go do something with yourselves or I'll put you all on scut for the next week!" They scrambled, bumping against each other in their haste to disperse to their assigned locations. "And try not to kill anyone!"

She waited until every intern had left the area before shaking her head and making her way down the hall to start her rounds for the morning. "Ma'am. Calling me ma'am. Idiots." She muttered. "Standing around, gossiping like a bunch of school girls."

(Line Break)

Amelia Shepard was having a terrible day, and it was only noon. After a long night on call, she had returned home, unable to reach Owen, despite his promise to text her- not that it mattered, since by the time she got home she was so tired all she wanted was to crawl into bed and sleep until her next shift. Still- it irked her that her boyfriend hadn't bothered to text her.

Boyfriend. She liked the sound of it. Enjoyed the exclusivity of it, even though the term wasn't entire accurate, since Owen definitely wasn't a boy. He was a man. A fact that he had proven to her several times since they had started talking. Still, to be able to rub her older brother's nose in it was it's own thrill in itself, especially after the heated argument they had gotten into over her talking to Owen. Derek had told her to back off, to leave Owen alone. He promised her that she was chasing a man who wasn't available, that she was just going to hurt herself. But Amelia was a fighter, and she loved a challenge, it was practically genetic. Stubbornness was a common trait in the Shepard family.

And, now? She had succeeded. Owen was hers. And victory had never tasted so sweet. Oh, she knew all about his past, it wasn't something that you could escape when you worked in a hospital that ate up gossip like it was a three course meal.

She knew about Dr. Yang, about her marriage to Owen, about the plane crash, the divorce, how she had left for Zurich months ago. She knew a wounded man when she saw one, and Owen was definitely that. But that was part of the appeal. Amelia herself wasn't always the most put together of people, and look at her now. So she knew she could help Owen, knew that she could be the one to put him back together, because if anyone knew how to put someone back together it was her. And she had. She had put him back together, coaxed him into dating, and locked him into that exclusivity that she had been hoping for.

Still… he didn't text her last night, and as she woke the next day, there still wasn't a text. Not even one that apologized for forgetting. She had gotten out of bed, grabbed a quick shower, making sure to use the body wash that she knew Owen was fond of, and managed some breakfast before heading into the hospital that day.

She knew Owen was working today, so she promised herself to make sure she made it down to the trauma center at some point. However, as she stepped in the hospital she could practically feel the change in the air. It was charged, buzzing. Interns huddled together in various places, nurses made quick comments as they made their way through their duties, even the doctors seem to be in a fluster. She had every intention of asking someone what had everyone so wound up, when a page came through and she had to rush to the OR for an emergency.

(Line Break)

The surgery hadn't gone well, the patient never making it off the table after a series of unpredictable complications that ended with the call for time of death, and Amelia was in a rotten mood by the time she stepped out of the OR. First no text from Owen, and now she had to start her day with a dead patient. On top of it, she had forgotten all about whatever it was that was making the hospital crazy today, until an intern had knocked the coffee she had been carrying in his haste to deliver the new round of gossip to his fellow interns, who appeared to be waiting down the hall.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" Amelia let out a startled shout, curing her luck as the liquid sloshed out of her cup and down the front of her scrubs. Scrubs that she had just changed after her surgery. Now she was going to have to change. Again. Damn it.

"Sorry, Dr. Shepard!" The intern rushed to apologize, his hands awkwardly hovering out in front of him, as if he were debating between trying to help her wipe up the mess and the wiser decision to just not touch her at all.

"What is the matter with everyone today?!" She huffed as she tried to flick the coffee off her hand.

"Sorry. I guess everyone is just excited about Dr. Yang coming back, she's kind of a god around here." The intern explained.

"Yang? As in, Dr. Cristina Yang? As in, the Dr. Cristina Yang that moved to Zurich?" Amelia questioned, momentarily forgetting that she had coffee staining her top.

"Uh, yeah. She's the new buyer. The one that was going to buy out the Harper Avery Foundation. Well, I guess she did buy out the Harper Avery Foundation. She's here now, though no one has seen her today…" The intern sounded pretty depressed about that. From what Amelia remembered, this particular intern was a bit of a Cardiothoracic enthusiast.

"Oh… welll… just watch where you're going from now on. You can't be running into things, knocking stuff over. What if I had had something more important than coffee in my hand?" Amelia questioned.

"Right. Again, sorry about that. I'll be more careful." The intern said at once before scurrying over to his little pack of friends who had watched the entire interaction.

Yang was back. Cristina was back- Owen's Cristina. And she now owned the lion's share of the hospital. Damn it. This day couldn't get any worse. Shaking her head, Amelia set off to find another scrub top… and another damn cup of coffee.

(Line Break)

"So… I hear Dr. Yang is back." Amelia tried to keep her voice as bright and cheery as possible as she slid into the spot across from Owen in the Cafeteria. He sat with his usual people, Amelia's brother, Derek, and a rather tired looking Meredith Grey. Karev, their other lunchtime companion had the day off, so it was just the four of them today.

"Ugh…" Meredith groaned as she dropped her head to the table at the sound of Amelia's too loud voice. Laughing, Derek reached over and shifted her tray a little further away to ensure that she didn't get ketchup in her hair.

"Oh. What's wrong with her?" Amelia questioned, her face contorting with concern.

"This is what happens when Cristina Yang swoops back into town- the hangover from hell." Derek laughed as he looked at his little sister.

"Hangover?" Amelia asked, looking between Meredith and Derek. "I thought she would be happy that Cristina was back, isn't she supposed to be her people or whatever?"

"Person. She's my person." Meredith corrected as she lifted her head up off the table. "And I am happy she's back, that's why I'm hungover. We were out until almost 4 am doing tequila shots and dancing at Joe's to celebrate."

"Joe's? Everyone went to Joe's?" Amelia questioned as she glanced around the faces at the table.

"Well, Meredith and I, Karev, Torres, and Cristina were there." Derek answered. "Owen was already there before we managed to drag him over to come celebrate with us." He purposely left out that it was Cristina who eventually got Hunt to join them, and that he was the one to make sure she got back to her hotel that night.

"Oh." Amelia picked at her salad for a bit, sneaking peeks at the still silent Owen. "So, it was a good night I'm guessing? I still can't believe she bought out the foundation, I mean, where would she get that kind of money? She's just a surgeon, right?"

"Well, Cristina owns a hospital in Zurich, and the man who was bank rolling the hospital there died and left her billions of dollars, so, she decided to help us out with the Harper Avery situation." Derek told her. "She's going to be setting up new facilities for us, and even expanded our budget. There should be a newsletter sent out soon about the upcoming changes."

"Wow. That's- uh… That's great." She tried to remain cheerful. "So, she's sticking around for a while then?"

"Not for too long." Meredith finally weighed in. "She's still got the Zurich hospital to worry about, and she's got her research there that she's needed for, but yeah, she'll be here for a week or two to oversee some of the changes. Though, I kind of can't wait until she ends up stealing a surgery from Pierce, that's going to be a fun time."

"Steal a surgery from Pierce?" Amelia looked startled. Surgeons didn't like people stepping on their toes, it was an ego thing. "She'd do that?"

For the first time since Amelia sat down, Owen started to laugh. "Oh, yeah. Cristina would definitely do that. If the surgery is interesting enough? She'll find any way possible to scrub in." The rest of the table not including Amelia, began to laugh along with him. "Cristina is a surgeon, through and through. She collects the weird, the interesting, the impossible, because that's what she loves the most."

"That's pretty rude though, isn't it? I wouldn't want anyone like that near me, or my surgeries."

"You don't know Cristina." Derek reasoned. "She's one of the best surgeons I've ever met. Even when she was an intern, we all knew she was going to be someone to contend with."

"She was the top in our intern year." Meredith put in. "She even won the first solo surgery, but had to forfeit because of the mess with the Sadie. She's gonna build a heart. An actual heart. 3-D printed and fully functioning."

"She's building a heart?! That technology is years, if not decades off." Amelia interjected. She knew that amazing things were being done with 3-D printers, but building fully, independently functioning organs? Let alone the heart? Appendix, liver, maybe. But a heart? Hell, even a lung would be less complex.

"If there's anyone who is going to do it, it will be Cristina." Owen told her. "She's brilliant, and driven. Cardio is her life. She'll do it."

"Wow. Ah. That's awesome, I guess." Amelia muttered softly, surprised by the conviction in her boyfriend's voice. She cleared her throat before deciding to change the subject. "So, how's everyone's day looking, today?"

"I've got a tumor the size of a golfball that I'm removing today." Meredith said as she pulled her tray back in front of her. "Pretty cool, actually. The guy swallowed a roll of pennies as a drunken dare, and came in for X-rays, and when we were looking at it, we saw the mass on his stomach lining. If he hadn't swallowed all those pennies, we might not have found the tumor and it probably would have killed him in a few years. So, when I remove the pennies, I'll remove the tumor. Kind of a two for one sale."

"Who swallows a whole roll of pennies?" Owen laughed in amazement. "Did he leave the roll's casing on, or did he just swallow as many pennies as he could individually?

"Well, interestingly enough-" Meredith started to tell the trauma surgeon about how the guy had managed to actually swallow the entire roll in one go- casing and all- some sort of weird talent that the guy apparently had, but she was cut off by the calling of her name.

"Mer! Meredith!" Cristina Yang was plowing her way through the crowd in the cafeteria, nimbly dodge startled doctors and interns alike as she skid to a stop at the table.

"Cristina? What are you doing here?" Meredith asked, surprised to see the asian surgeon in the hospital that day. "Cool cardio case come in?"

"Huh? Oh, no. Though, I did bribe some dopey intern to page me if something sweet, and preferably gory, came in." She revealed as she reached over to snag one of Derek's fries. "Actually, I need your help with some of the budgeting, well all of your help I guess, since it pertains to everyone, but whatever." Taking the empty seat that Karev usually sat in, between Meredith and Owen, Cristina slouched comfortably back against the seat.

"Oh. Wait- how are you not hungover?" Meredith questioned. "You drank just as much as I did, and I feel like death. Yet, you look just fine!"

"I.V. Fluids, Mer. Duh. Did you think I was going to spend my entire day feeling like I lived in a bottle of tequila? I've got so much paperwork I have to get through today."

"I.V. Fluids? Where did you even get those? Did you go to the clinic or something? Steal some?" Meredith questioned. "Damn. I should have done that…"

"No- I didn't steal fluids, Mer, jeeze. I had some in my kit." Cristina told her as she snagged another fry.

"Hey! Get your own!" Derek told her as he jokingly pulled his tray away from her reach.

"Anyway, I need to know how many 3-D printers you guys think you'll need." Cristina responded as she ignored Derek's order and stole yet another fry.

"Well, as many as you want to give us." Meredith told her. "Wait- kit? You have a kit? Like the adult diaper bag?"

"No. Well… kind of. It's… never mind what it is. I travel with it." Cristina muttered as she shot a quick glance at the table.

"Travel with it?" Derek inquired. "You travel with an adult diaper bag?"

"No. It's… it's just a kit with… things. Things I may need." Cristina told him, slightly defensive.

"Things like I.V. Fluids?" Meredith asked as she laughed. She couldn't figure out why the diaper bag would have anything but tequila in it- it was part of their system.

"Yes. Things like I.V. Fluids. It's got a suture kit, tubing, iodine, splints. Stuff like that." Cristina finally relented.

"Suture kit?" Owen looked at her. Cristina had always been serious about her surgeries, it was a little ridiculous to be carrying all of that around with her. "Going to start operating on people in the street now? You sound like you're prepared for an emergency operation." The table laughed, thinking about how out of anyone, Cristina would be the one to have a kit ready for emergency surgeries, just in case she got to get her hands bloody while taking a stroll. "If you wanted surgeries on the fly, you could always come hang out in the trauma center- plenty of mess down there."

"No- it's- it's not like that. I'm not…" They were startled to see that Cristina seemed to be getting agitated. "It's not a 'quick and dirty' bag." She stabbed at the trauma surgeon. "It's… it's a 'plane crash, get lost in the wildness, with people dying around you' bag. It's got the things you need to survive. Water, granola bars, a lighter instead of stupid matches that blow out, something to close people up with, okay?" Cristina hadn't meant to mention the bag at all, forgetting her friends tendency to latch on to comments and not let go. The bag was a bit of a sore spot for her.

A weakness.

It was a reminder that she wasn't over it. Not entirely. A reminder that there were days when her shoulder still ached, when she would wake up in a cold sweat to the sound of Arizona's screams or Lexie's labored breath. The bag was a promise. A promise to never be that helpless again. It helped fight back the panic every time she stepped aboard a plane. It was a safety blanket, and Cristina Yang didn't do safety blankets. Not willingly at least.

The table had gone silent, realizing they should have left the issue alone. They all knew what had happened in the crash, whether it was through experience or through having heard it later. Cristina may not have been physically as damaged as some of the others, but mentally? Emotionally? She was the one who had stayed awake, had kept the animals away from Lexie's body, had given Arizona the last of the water when she had dehydrated herself from the crying, had kept Mark alive long enough for a rescue. She was the one who had locked herself away in her mind afterwards.

"Sorry." Meredith muttered under her breath to her person. Cristina was glaring at the table top, her arms crossed defensively over her chest, eyebrows furrowed.

"Yeah, well, whatever." Cristina mumbled back, before reaching over and taking the last fry from Derek's tray. "Anyway, 3-D printers. Like, ten of them?" She questioned, wanting the subject to change.

"I-uh- I don't think we need ten, really." Derek told her, no longer protesting the loss of his fries. "Three or four should suffice."

"Hmmm. I was thinking one for each department at least, so there's less fighting over it." Cristina told him. "I don't want anyone emailing me, telling me that Dr. So-and-so isn't sharing, or whatever." She started looking around the table to see who else's food she was interested in stealing when her pager went off.

"Huh?" Lifting it up to her face, she read the page. "Oh! Sweet! Chainsaw to the chest!" Standing up, she quickly snagged one of Owen's apple slices, popping it in her mouth before starting out of the cafeteria. "I've got to go find some scrubs, let me know about the printers!" She hollered back as she tossed a hand up in a mediocre goodbye.

(Line Break)

Dr. Pierce was, in fact, very mad when Cristina Yang swooped in and stole her surgery. She protested, loudly. Informing the wild haired doctor that as Head of Cardio, there was no way she was going to allow that to happen in her OR. Unfortunately for Dr. Pierce, she hadn't heard the news that 'her OR,' was no longer technically, her OR. It was Cristina's. After having been informed of that nauseating little fact, Dr. Pierce found her self going over charts, missing out on the mess of a heart in the OR.

In truth, she thought the guy was a goner. She had gotten a look at the heart when they were bringing him in, and she was amazed the guy was even still alive when they brought him in, unconscious from blood loss, looking like he stepped out of a horror film. She had planned to take him in, and do everything she could to help save him, but she was fairly confident the guy wasn't making it off the table. The heart had been in shreds, hanging on by a few surviving strands of tissue.

So, Yang wanted the surgery? Fine. She could have it, Dr. Pierce reasoned. One less name on her own mortality count. If Yang wanted that counted against her, Pierce wasn't going to stop her.

(Line Break)

The surgery took seventeen hours. Seventeen hours of repairing shredded tissue, of reconstructing the patients left ventricle, of finding all the bleeds that were present in the butchered heart, of stitch after stitch after stitch. Seventeen hours, and Cristina felt amazing. Surgery always gave her that rush. The intense rush that left her exhilarated. It was like a bolt of lightning to her body, leaving her charged and ready to take on anything.

Humming, she discarded red stained gloves, and shoved her bloodied surgical gown and mask in the hazard bins. She scrubbed out, enjoying the pleasant ache she felt in her heels from standing at a surgical table for so long.

There was a bounce in her step as she strut out of the OR, tugging the tight bun from the top of her head and shaking out the curls. Making her way down the hall, contemplating what she was going to do next, she stopped short when she caught sight of Owen leaning against the nurses station, going over charts.

As it always did, the sight of him hit her hard. She was revved up from the surgery, her body on overdrive, and in the Before, she would walked up to him, grabbed his hand and dragged him into the nearest on-call room, stairwell, or conference room she could find, to work off her extra energy. It had always been one of her favorite post-surgery traditions, that intense round of sex with the man that used to be her husband. But they didn't live in the Before anymore. They lived in the After. The new After. The new After where they didn't send flirtatious glances, or head home together at the end of the night, or eat greasy Chinese food together. The new After where she didn't walk up to him, grab his hand, and drag him to the nearest on-call room, stairwell, or conference room. The new After was friends, and she winced at the word.

Owen had been… Owen had been the one. She knew that. She knew that, and there were days when she still wished she was simple. Because simple meant that happy marriage, and simple meant being able to see passed her career to having kids. Kids that he deserved so much. It was one of the reasons she had decided to go to Zurich; because she wasn't simple- she never would be.

And if she had stayed, he would have kept trying to convince himself that she was enough. They would have kept pretending that he was okay with not having kids of his own, pretending that everything was going to be okay, when it wasn't. And maybe, just maybe, she would have eventually caved. She would have caved, and given him babies. Babies with wild curls, and blue eyes, and stubborn attitudes. And she would have loved them. She knew that. But she would have also resented them. And eventually, it wouldn't have been enough.

She needed surgery. She needed a heart in her hands- needed to feel that rhythmic beating beneath her palms. Ever since she was nine years old, she knew exactly what she was going to be. Like a light switch clicking on, she had switched her life goals from Ruler of her own planet, to surgeon. To a Cardiothoracic Surgeon. She knew, from the moment her father's death truly set in, that she was going to fix hearts. Because, perhaps, if she had known what to do that night, like she does now, then maybe her father would still be alive. It was like her 'plane-crash travel kit.' A safety blanket that she didn't want to admit to. Her skill as a surgeon- her brilliance- was a safety blanket. And it was a little demeaning to admit that the thing she had work so fucking hard for, had been top in her class for, had fought tooth and nail for- was a coping mechanism. A coping mechanism that pushed back the grief that still lurked in the back of her mind.

Every successful surgery helped keep the memories at bay. Helped fight back the memory of blood pouring over her tiny, nine-year-old hands, blood that her father's heart kept pumping- until it wasn't anymore. It kept her from remembering the pretty yellow dress that her mother had made her wear that day. The pretty yellow dress that was stained by deep red blood by the time the ambulance got there. She had hated that dress- with it's itchy tulle lined skirt, and lacy collar. But she would have worn that dress for the rest of her life if it had meant it had never gotten ruined with her father's blood that night. If it had meant that there was never any accident, if it had meant she would have still had her father. But the dress had been ruined, and she had replaced it with an equally itchy black dress for her father's funeral.

Now, she stood in the hallway, dressed in light blue scrubs, curls loose around her, and she felt that post-surgery high starting to fade. She felt the weight of the new After. Felt that ache in her heart that always dug at her when she thought of her ex husband. The ache that morphed into a sharp stab as she watched Amelia Shepard slide up next to Owen, her face alight with happiness as she pressed a kiss to his cheek.

Cristina's breath kicked out of her lungs as she watched Owen's face register the kiss with a start, before morphing into a soft smile as he returned the gentle kiss to Amelia's lips. She remembered that smile. Remembered the exact pressure of that kiss, the slight burn of his facial hair against delicate skin.

"Dr. Yang!" Cristina pulled herself away from the scene before her at the sound of her name. One of the scrub nurses was walking out of the OR. "Dr. Yang, you forgot your phone in the OR."

"Oh. Thank you." She muttered as she took the phone from the nurses outstretched hand. She offered a small smile to the nurse, before turning down the nearest stairwell without looking back at Owen or Amelia.

(Line Break)

"Shit." She muttered as she checked her phone. Somehow, she had accidentally hit the 'do not disturb' button on the phone, blocking out any incoming texts or calls. Realizing her mistake, she flicked the phone back into an active mode, and watched as the notifications poured in. Seven missed called, and eighteen text messages from Shane. "Shit. Shit, shit, shit." Cristina panicked as she opened texts, deciding it was the faster way to get the information she needed.

As she read over the texts, panic truly set in. Deciding to call Shane, despite the time difference, Cristina dialed his number. The phone rang four times before a sleepy sounding Shane responded.

"H-hello?"

"Shane!" Cristina barked into the phone.

"Dr. Yang! Do you even remember what time it is here?" Shane asked, his voice a little irritated. He was used to phone calls from Cristina at odd hours, since it seemed as though the woman was always seeking out emergency surgeries, but she wasn't even in the country at the moment and he was hoping to get some actual sleep.

"Shane, why do I have several texts on my phone regarding Rowan O'Rourke?" Cristina asked, having no sympathy for the younger surgeon.

"I tried to get a hold of you! But you didn't answer! She on her way there now, should be there in a few hours." Shane informed her.

Cristina scoffed into the receiver. "I gathered that from the texts you sent telling me that you were packing her up onto a flight and sending her to Seattle! I'm asking you why is she on her way to Seattle?"

"Her most recent scans showed another tumor. You've been her primary surgeon throughout her entire case, I knew you'd want to handle it. The printer and equipment is on it's way with her, including all your research notes and tapes. I know it's not ideal, but you didn't leave me much choice when you didn't answer your phone!"

"I didn't answer because I was in surgery! In case you forgot, it's frowned upon to text with your surgical gloves covered in blood." Cristina sassed as she deliberately left out the fact that she had accidentally messed up her phone, and hadn't received any of the messages.

"Are you telling me you would have been okay with another surgeon opening her up and poking around in your work? Don't say yes, because we both know it's not true." Shane said. They both knew that if anyone else had touched the case, Cristina would have been out for blood. Well, more so than usual. She had developed a special attachment to the case, to the patient, despite her attempts not to.

"Shane- what am I supposed to do with her here?" Cristina questioned as she slumped against the wall in the stairwell. "She shouldn't even be flying, she's only five!"

"I'm not a compete idiot, despite you occasionally still calling me Dopey. She has a social worker with her, and an entire medical transport team to make sure nothing happens to the printer or the research." Shane told her. "They will take her, and the equipment to Grey Sloan Memorial, and you'll take it from there. I've already sent Dr. Hunt a notice, and he said he would set aside a room for her."

"Dr. Hunt? Owen? Damn it, Shane!" Cristina growled. She felt a headache coming on as she reached up to rub her temples. "I-I don't know what to do with this."

"Just be your normal, brilliant self. I emailed you the updated case file, and besides, she'll be excited to see you, you know that. You've only been gone a few days, but she keeps asking when you'll be back." Shane told her.

"Did you at least pack up her stuff with her?"

"Yeah, everything is in her bag, including her toys, nightlight, and her blanket. Everything will be fine." Shane checked the time on his phone and mentally counted off the hours. "She should be there soon, so you might as well find an on-call room to crash in, so you can be there when she shows up."

"Yeah. Yeah, I'll have someone page me when she's here. Thanks, Shane." Cristina muttered as she mental prepared a list of everything she needed to do.

"Can I go back to sleep now?" He questioned.

"I hate you." Cristina told him as she hung up. She took a few deep breaths before standing up and making her way down to pediatrics.

(Line Break)

It was close to 4 a.m. when she got the page. She had manage to look over Rowan's updated case file, check on her chainsaw patient who was holding steady, and still catch a few hours of sleep. At the annoying chirp of her pager, Cristina bolted up off the bed, and frantically checked the page. It was informing her of her patients arrival and she wearily rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Her scrubs were wrinkled, her hair a mess, and she was in dire need of a cup of coffee. However, all of that would have to wait, as Rowan was here and she was probably nervous about being in a new place. Luckily, nothing in Rowan's case file suggested that she would have to operate tonight.

Sighing, she stood and tried to smooth out her hair and clothes before grabbing her white lab coat and leaving the on-call room. She walked the short distance between the on-call room and Rowan's designated room, sliding open the glass door and stepping inside.

"Dr. Cristina?" A small voice greeted her. It was thick with a Scottish accent that Cristina secretly found adorable. At five, Rowan O'Rourke was a tiny thing. Smaller than Cristina would have liked, but the girl was a fighter- something that had convinced Cristina to take the case.

Sleepy brilliant blue eyes cracked open to look up at her. They looked too big on her small porcelain face, something that was only accented by the wild red curls that framed her face. In her arms the little girl clutched at a well-loved stuffed purple rabbit, a gift from Cristina when the girl had turned five two months ago while in Cristina's care.

"Hey, there, Ro. How are you feeling?" Cristina asked as she perched a hip on the bed next to the little girl. Knowing there was no one around to see her, Cristina reached out a hand and smoothed gently over the curls that reminded Cristina of her own.

"'M okay." The little girl told her as she put on a brave face and smiled up at her favorite doctor. "L'ttle tired."

Cristina smiled down at her tiny patient. Rowan always had a habit of dropping out letters when she spoke if she was tired. That, coupled with the thick accent, always had Cristina smiling.

Rowan O'Rourke had become her patient during her first month in Zurich, and had been with Cristina ever since. At such a young age, the little scrap of a girl had undergone four surgeries, and was known by everyone at the Institute. Cristina had originally not wanted the case, having determined the little girl a little too far gone to save. She hadn't even been sure how the case file had made it to her desk, since the little girl was originally from Scotland. It wasn't until later that Cristina found out that Shane had snuck the file into her potentials. They had argued for days, Cristina angry that Shane had, once again, tried to trick her into taking a patient. However, in the end, Cristina took the case, and had been keeping her alive ever since. Rowan had become a permanent resident of the hospital, and it didn't take Cristina long to become attached to sweet little girl.

"Okay, well, lets get some sleep then, huh? Where did they put your bag?" Cristina asked as she looked around for the blue duffle bag that they always used for Rowan.

"Ov'r th're." The little girl pulled her hand out from under the covers and pointed to the darkened corner to the left of the room.

"Alright. Let's see if I can find your light and blanket, okay?" At the girl's nod, Cristina left the bed and started to dig through the bag. Finding the required items, she made quick work of plugging in the little night light, and spreading the soft light blue blanket out on the little girl's bed. "Better, right?"

Rowan hummed in agreement, snuggling into the pillows. Smoothing back the curls once more, Cristian pulled up the sleeper chair next to the bed and grabbed an extra blanket from the small dresser in the room. Settling back in the chair, she tucked her feet up under herself and pulled the blanket over top of herself. Smiling softly, she looked back at the small girl. "Let's get some sleep then." Closing her eyes, Cristina settled in for a rough sleep.

(Line Break)

"She came in early this morning." One of the nurses whispered to the other. "Her file says she's been Dr. Yang's patient for a while now, and the kid is like a cardiac nightmare. Tumors, dissections, kid's already got a pacemaker in, despite her young age…" They stood by the door of the room, looking in on the small, beautiful child and the sleeping Cardiothoracic surgeon.

"Poor thing." The other nurse murmured back. "I'm surprised Dr. Yang is still here, though. She doesn't seem like the type to crash in a patient's room- particularly a kid's. From what I heard she doesn't want kids, which is probably good, since the rumor in Peds is that she's terrible with them."

"Yeah. Then again, it is a pretty messy case- maybe she's just making sure she's close by on the off chance she gets to crack the kid's chest open again." The two nurses laughed quietly as they assessed the possible reasons that Cristina Yang would be so vigilant over a small child.

"Good morning!" The ever chipper Dr. Arizona Robbins greeted the two nurses from down the hall as she walked towards them. She was startled when the two nurses turned to her in a panic and shushed her. "W-what's going on?" Arizona dropped her voice to a whisper as she reached the two nurses. At the nurses direction, she looked into the room, surprised to find Cristina Yang camped out in a sleeper chair by the bedside of a young girl. "What's Cristina doing down on Peds? She didn't scare another little kid, did she?"

"No, no… well, maybe, I don't really know anything about that, it's possible. But no, this little girl was flown in early this morning, and Dr. Yang has been here all night. Kid's a cardio case of Yang's from Zurich. She's here to have a tumor removed. Third tumor the kid's had."

Arizona stared at the bizarre scene before her. She knew Cristina was dedicated to cardio, but she also knew that Cristina wasn't that great with kids. Telling herself that she would talk to Cristina later that day, she ushered the nurses away from the door of the room, and set about her morning rounds.

(Line Break)

"Do you guys have any idea why Cristina Yang is sleeping in a patient's room on the Peds floor?" Arizona asked as she joined Callie, Owen, and Meredith in their little huddle by the nurses station a little later that day.

"Peds floor? Yang's on the Peds floor? And there's no crying kids, yet?" Callie asked as she kissed her wife's cheek.

"Hey! Cristina is good with kids!" Meredith defended. "She's great with Zola! She just doesn't know how to mix surgery and kids- she's not that good at talking about surgeries like there's rainbows and unicorns, and there's nothing wrong with that."

"Yeah, well, she's passed out in a sleeper chair in one of the kid's rooms. The chart says she's Cristina's patient from Zurich that got flown in last night."

"Yeah, I got some paperwork about that." Owen interjected as he signed his name on one of the patient files he had. "Cristina must have brought her in for her surgery. Rowan something. She's got a pretty extensive file for only being five years old. Looks like she's been Cristian's patient since she moved to Zurich. No one else operates on her, which isn't surprising if she's one of Cristina's."

"Huh. She's never mentioned her to me." Meredith told them as she shuffled through her case load for the day. She brushed a piece of blond hair, that had escaped it's ponytail, out of her face. "We talk about cases all the time. I wonder why she didn't mention it?"

"Wait- Yang didn't tell you about the kid?" Callie quirked her eyebrow up at Meredith. If the kid really was a cardio-mess, Cristina would have generally mentioned it, so why hadn't she?

"N-no. But she probably just forgot to mention it. She's got a hospital to run." Meredith reasoned, though she was a little curious.

"She's had the kid as a patient for almost an entire year- and she just forgot for the entire year?" Arizona asked, her tone disbelieving.

"We should go check it out." Callie told them, as she started towards the elevators.

"W-wait, what?" Owen looked up from the chart he had been reviewing while they talked.

"Yeah, come on! Yang has some secret patient that she didn't even tell Grey about?" Callie turned back towards them, but continued to walk backwards to the elevator. "Something's totally up."

"You know what? She's right." Meredith said as she started towards the elevator herself. "Come on, it's got to be something good! And it's not like we really want to be charting right now anyway. This is way more interesting."

Arizona agreed and took off towards the two other women who were now holding open the elevator doors and motioning for them to get on. Owen stumbled over his tongue for a second, glancing down at his unfinished charts, before sighing, flipping the cover over and filing it quickly behind the desk. He quickly jogged over to the elevator, slipping in besides the other three women. He shoved his hands in his lab coat as Callie pressed the button for the Pediatrics floor.

(Line Break)

"Cristina?" Meredith questioned as she slide back the glass door on the room that Arizona pointed out to them. Stepping in the room, the group glance quickly around for the cardio surgeon, before realizing she wasn't there.

"She's takin' a shower." The little girl in the bed told them. Her accent was as thick as the hair that fell past her shoulders in brilliant red curls. The little girl had the small over-the-bed table pulled up to where she sat, coloring in bed. A cup of what was likely orange juice sat next to her crayons. "Though, she's prob'bly gettin' coffee. She's cranky withou' coffee." She informed them.

"Oh. Hi, there!" Meredith said, as she put on a bright smile. "Yeah, she does get pretty cranky without her coffee, doesn't she?" Moving further into the room, Meredith propped her hip up against the bed.

"Yup. Says she needs it ta deal with my smart mouth." The little girl gave them a toothy grin, revealing a few missing teeth. She obviously wasn't upset by Cristina's assessment about her smart mouth.

"Ha. Well, I'm Meredith- I'm Cristina's best friend." Meredith knew that kids were generally more comfortable knowing who they were talking to. Turning she pointed out the rest of the doctors who had filtered into the room during their conversation. "This is Dr. Torres, and Dr. Robbins, and Dr. Hunt, they all work here too."

"I know." The little redhead told them as she looked over the four of them. "I'm Rowan. I'm five." She told them with a smile. "I saw your pic'tures a-fore."

"Before, Ro. You've seen their pictures, before." They startled slightly at the sound of Cristina's voice from the doorway. She was leaned against the door frame, her curls still a little wet from her shower, holding a cup of coffee.

"Right." Rowan agreed as she lit up at the sight of her doctor. "Before." She corrected herself as Cristina moved passed the other doctors to stand by Rowan's bed. Cristina reached out a hand, and pushed back some of the unruly curls that fell into the girl's face before she could correct the habit.

"Good morning, everyone." Cristina addressed the rest of them, an eyebrow arched in question to their presence.

"We- uh- we heard you had a special patient with you today." Arizona told her, trying very hard to to squirm under the other surgeon's gaze.

"Uh-huh. And did we introduce ourselves, Rowan?" Cristina asked as she turned her attention back to the little girl in the bed.

"Yup. Told 'em my name, and age. Said they were friends o' yours." Rowan told her as she shot that toothy grin in Cristina's direction.

"They are, but you already knew that." Cristina said as she took another sip of her coffee.

"Yup. Knew 'em from the pic'tures." Rowan agreed, as she quickly took a sip of her orange juice in an attempt to mimic her doctor. She was rewarded with a soft smile that seemed to warm up her insides. Dr. Cristina aways gave her that smile, and Dr. Shane had told her that it was a smile just for her, that Dr. Cristina didn't smile at anyone else like that. It made her feel special.

"So, uh… Rowan, are your parents here?" Arizona asked, taking a step closer to the bed. Usually parents of a girl this young were never far away, but she hadn't seen them this morning either.

"No. Don't have any." Rowan told her quietly.

"Ro's an orphan." Cristina told them. "She's been my patient for a long time now, huh, Ro?"

"Yup!" Rowan brightened immediately. "Dr. Cristina fixed'd my heart."

"Fixed, Ro. No extra 'd' on there." Cristina reminded her. Rowan was still young enough that she was still forming her speech patterns and learning how words fit together properly.

"Right. Fixed. No extra 'd.'" Rowan repeated at once. She liked it when Dr. Cristina helped her with her words. There were some days, when they found the time, that Dr. Cristina would sit with her in her room at the hospital and help her read and write and speak properly. Dr. Cristina told her it was important that she know how to speak correctly, and that reading and writing was really important too. So, Rowan always worked really hard to remember the corrections that Dr. Cristina gave her. Dr. Shane would help her too, and some of the nurses, but Rowan liked Dr. Cristina the best.

"Wanna give them the run down?" Cristina asked as she sat down the chair by the bed.

"Yeah! Patient's name, Rowan O'Rourke, age five and a quarter." Rowan informed them, proud of her quarter of a year. "Pre-presented with- uh… presented with a-ah-ahrith…um… arrhythmia, and chest pains." She still struggled a lot with the bigger words, but Dr. Cristina said she was doing really great with it, and that she was smart. She had never really had anyone before to help her or tell her she was smart. Plus, Dr. Cristina always went over the words with her. Looking over at her doctor, she was given a smile- her smile- and Rowan continued with her case file. "X-Rays show'd a mass in the patients right ven-tra-i-cle." That was another hard one, and she usually had to sound it out when she said it.

"Close. Ven-tri-cle." Cristina sounded out the correct pronunciation. "No 'a,' remember?"

"Oh, yeah! Ven-tri-cle." She shot the other doctors a proud smile, noticing that they all seemed to be smiling back at her. "Patient was di-dia… um… This one's a ha'rd one." She muttered as she looked over at Dr. Cristina.

"Diagnosed. Di-ag-no-sed" Cristina supplied as she leaned further back in her chair and crossed her legs.

"Di-ag-no-sed." Rowan sounded out slowly. "With ah tumor. Dr. Cristina took'd it out for me." Rowan told them, dropping the more formal speech of her case file in her excitement.

"Took- I took it out." Cristina told her. She could tell that Shane hadn't had time to help Rowan with her words in the past few days, and Rowan was sliding back into her habit of adding 'd's' to her words again. Rowan was a really intelligent five year old. Smarter than most. It was one of the things Cristina liked about her. Cristina didn't have to use baby talk, or pretend that there was magic in Rowan's body, or tell her that there was some sort of magical fairy that was going to come and make Rowan all better. Cristina explained what the big words meant, and helped her understand what was going on with her body the best she could. And she made sure everyone else who assisted with Rowan's care did too.

"Right. Took. Dr. Cristina took it out for me." Rowan scrunched her face up as she tried to remember the next part. "I-uh… I don't 'member the rest." Rowan told her, sad that she couldn't remember.

"That's alright, Ro, we'll go over it again before your surgery, okay?" Cristina told her. Even though Rowan was very intelligent, she was only five, and it was difficult for her to remember everything.

"Okay!" Rowan agreed, happy that Dr. Cristina didn't seem to be disappointed in her. She watched as Dr. Cristina got up from her chair and moved through the room to stand by the rest of the doctors. She knew all their names, and who they were- they were Dr. Cristina's 'people.' Her best friend, and her ex-husband, and her two other friends. Dr. Cristina had shown her pictures of her friends before when Rowan had asked about her life other than being a doctor. She watched as Dr. Cristina stopped to stand between Dr. Mer, and Dr. Hunt, picking up her chart and looking over some of the details. "Alright, Ro. So it looks like the new tumor is on the outside wall of your lower left ventricle. Where's that one at?" Cristina asked as she looked up from the chart.

"The to- no, wait. The bottom. On this side." Rowan told her after a moment of thought. She held up her left hand to indicate which side of her body she meant.

"Mmm. Are you sure?" Cristina teased, a smirk playing at the corner of her lips. She watched as Rowan furrowed her brows in concentration for a moment before lighting up again.

"Yup!"

"Good job, Ro." Cristina smiled at her. "So, we'll get some scans done, then go in and take a look. Hopefully, I can get in there and take it out all in one shot. Sound good?"

"You're gonna be there for the scans, right?"

"Yes." Cristina tried to be at all of Rowan's scans, since Rowan didn't like them. Sometimes her schedule didn't allow it, but in cases like that, Shane would go and sit with her. "Okay. So, I'm going to step outside really quick and make sure they have everything all set, and I'll be right back."

"Alright!" Rowan readily agreed, turning back to her coloring as Cristina and the other doctors left the room.

(Line Break)

"Wow." Arizona said as the glass door slid closed behind them, effectively cutting them off from the room. "She's really smart. And you're really good with her."

"Yeah, who would have thought?" Callie laughed. "Yang being good with a kid!"

Cristina didn't laugh along with the joke. Instead, she crossed her arms over her chest and stared at the group of doctor's in front of her. On one hand she was irritated that they had taken it upon themselves to ambush the little girl's room. On the other hand, she knew she should have at least mentioned something to Meredith about Rowan a long time ago. She had meant to, she really had. But the longer Rowan stayed, the less Cristina wanted to tell her person about her.

Telling Meredith about the little girl made her attachment to the little girl a little bit more real, something Cristina wasn't ready to face. She didn't want kids. She wasn't good with them, wasn't willing to take the time off of her career to become a mother. Not that she was a mother to Rowan. But they had a bond, and she knew Meredith would have seen it if she had talked to her about it. And she knew that Meredith would have started to question whether or not Cristina really didn't want children. And Cristina couldn't have that. She had had an instrumental role in the death of her marriage when she refused Owen children. As much as she knew it was her right to choose, she also knew things would have been different, so very different, if she had decided to keep the baby. Owen's baby. And later, her conviction against motherhood remained as one of the reasons she had truly lost Owen. She couldn't have doubt injected into that decision- it was far too late for that.

"So." Cristina looked around the group of people she cared for. "Anyone want to tell me why you're ambushing a five year old?"

"Ambushing? Cristina, we were hardly ambushing." Owen told her. He could see the anger that simmered beneath the calm surface of his ex wife's tone. "We were- we were curious. You hadn't even told Meredith about her, and here she was- sitting in the hospital like it was no big deal." In truth, Owen was hurt. Soul-wrenching hurt. To stand in that room, and watch Cristina act so out of character with a little girl, hurt. He had watched as Cristina's tone softened, watched as a gentle smile took residence on her face, watched as she had reached out and tenderly smoothed back the curls on the little girl's head. It was clear to Owen just how attached Cristina was to this little girl- the way she gently corrected her speech, included the little girl in the conversation that some would have excluded her from, the way Cristina moved into position to seemingly protect the little girl from Cristina's own friends. She was loving. She was exactly how Owen had imagined she would be with the child he had thought they would have had.

She hadn't tried to dumb down anything for the little girl, hadn't tried to baby talk to the five year old, hadn't shown anything but patience, and love for the tiny girl in the other room. She would have been an amazing mother. Owen had always believed that. And now, to see the proof before him- it gnawed at his heart, twisted his guts. "And the way you act with her, it obviously is a big deal."

"She's my patient. She is… She's a special case." Cristina told them, seeing the hurt in Owen's eyes. It was exactly what she had wanted to avoid. She knew what it looked like to outsiders. She knew that the bond she shared with Rowan could easily be interpreted as motherly, and she knew just how much it would hurt Owen to see that. It was just one more reason why she had kept this from Meredith. "Rowan was orphaned at age three, her parents weren't able to support a sick child, and they left her in front of a church in Scotland, where they were from. They had left a note, telling her age, and birthdate- asking their God to forgive them for leaving her. They were poor, and they knew she wasn't going to survive." Cristina looked back at the little girl through the glass. Rowan was still coloring peacefully.

"The church named her. O'Rourke was the last name of the priest who found her, and Rowan was chosen by Rowan herself, though, who knows where a three year old would have picked up a name like that. Anyway, the church took her to child services, who put her into the system. Eventually, due to her complicated heart situation, she was sent to a hospital, who ended up sending her to something similar to a hospice care when they didn't think there was anything they could do for her. Apparently, Shane had become friends with one of the nurses at the hospital after treating a patient over there, and she told him about Rowan. He asked her to send the case file over, and slipped it into my potentials for cases.

"I was furious at him. He had tried to force me into taking a patient before, when we were working on the conduits, and I told him that if he was going to keep doing this I was going to send him away. But eventually, he changed my mind. I won't give you a run down of everything that's wrong with her heart, you can look at her history in her case file if you'd like, but the kid's heart is a cardio minefield. She's five years old and has a ticking time bomb in her chest. I've done all of her surgeries. I've kept her alive. But it's only fair that you all know that she is on borrowed time.

"We are just dragging it out with every surgery, but I can't… you can't tell a five year old that you won't at least try. She knows. Like you said, she's smart. She knows that we are just prolonging the inevitable. Until then- until she says she's had enough, or her body decides that for her, I'm going to do everything I can. Now, if you talk to her, there are a few rules. No baby talk. Don't ignore her because you don't think she will understand. She doesn't go anywhere without her stuffed rabbit, and she knows there's not unicorns and pixie dust that's going to make a surgery go well. And no grape juice. She hates it. Okay? I'm not going to tell you to stay away from her, because she's an awesome little girl to get to know, but those are the rules. Got it?" Cristina finished her speech with a fixed glare at her friends. She wanted them to understand the reality of the Rowan's presence. The group nodded their heads in understanding, and Cristina bit nervously at her lip as she considered her next course of action. "Okay. Make sure you let the others know, okay? And I don't want those two nurses that were on rotation this morning near her, okay? Rowan said she doesn't like them for some reason- she won't tell me why." With that, Cristina nodded, satisfied that she got the point across, and she made her way back into Rowan's room, shutting the door behind her.

(Line Break)

Cristina hadn't left the hospital in days. Rowan's surgery had been a success, but it didn't matter much, since it only bought the little girl a little bit more time. She had taken to showering in the hospital, eating in the cafeteria or ordering in, and sleeping in Rowan's room. She was exhausted. She still had the hospital in Zurich to run, and now she was overseeing the plans for Grey Sloan Memorial's new facilities. Plus, she was still helping out with surgeries where she could- whenever an extra pair of hands were needed, she offered up hers. She had barely had any time to see Meredith or any of her other friends, and now, in the early hours of the morning, while Rowan slept peacefully in her room, Cristina found herself sitting in the research lab, running down the formulas and equations in her notes for her 3-D heart.

Something was missing. Something was missing that was keeping her 3-D heart from functioning the way it should. She had had a few trial runs that looked promising, even had some of the individual parts of the heart working, but when the rest of the heart didn't work with it- it eventually would shut down as well. Cardiac death- over and over and over. It was starting to take it's toll on Cristina.

Inputting the new data into the printer and starting the new trial run, she tried to rub the kinks out of her neck. Her body was sore, eyes gritty, her hair had long since fallen out of its ponytail and now hung limply around her face. She just wanted to go home and sleep for a week, but she couldn't. She had too much to do. Still, she decided to just rest her eyes for a little bit. Dropping back into her chair, she let her head drop to the table in front of her, and let her eyelids fall heavy over her eyes.

(Line Break)

That was how Meredith found her a few hours later. Meredith had been on call that night, and after checking her patients decided to go find her best friend, who was likely passed out in Rowan's room like usual. Meredith was amazed at Cristina's dedication to not leave the little girl alone in a foreign hospital at night. However, she could see her friend starting to wear a little thin, and was starting to grow concerned.

Surprised to find that Cristina wasn't in Rowan's room, she decided to check the only other place Cristina would be if she wasn't in surgery at the moment- the research lab. Watching Cristina with her research was… terrifying yet awe-inspiring. She was so driven, so focused, so determined to make this heart work. Meredith understood drive- she had seen it in her mother, had it in herself, but Cristina? Cristina was obsessed.

As she enter the research lab, she found her friend exactly where she thought she would. Realizing that Cristina was passed out with her head on the table top, Meredith moved quietly into the room. Peeking over her person's shoulder, Meredith looked at some of Cristina's notes. They were impeccable. Neatly organized and written, all the trials and errors recorded meticulously. Meredith had gotten to see one of the tester hearts that Cristina had been working on earlier that week, and was in awe as she watched the left side of the heart attempt to work once they had it hooked up to the appropriate machines. Cristina was so close. So close to changing the face of medicine.

Looking over at the 3-D printer that was currently humming with activity, Meredith saw that the heart it seemed to be working on was significantly smaller than the one that Meredith had seen Cristina attempting to make before. Confused, Meredith moved closer, taking a look at the notebook that was left open on the table next to it. Reading over the contents, she quickly understood exactly what Cristina was doing.

"Cristina." Meredith said aloud, reaching out to gently shake her friend's shoulder.

"H-huh? W-what? Mer? What are you doing here?" Cristina questioned as she squinted blearily into the dim lighting of the lab. She reached a hand up to swipe at her mouth where she was certain there was still a little drool from her power nap.

"Cristina." Meredith looked at her exhausted friend. "Cristina, what are you doing?" She gestured towards the machine.

"What? Mer, I'm building a heart, you know that."

"You know what I'm talking about." Meredith said sternly. "Cristina, you are so close to making a functioning heart- I saw that with my own eyes, but you are a long way off from putting that functioning heart in an actual person, Cristina! You're building a smaller heart. You're building a smaller heart in hopes that you'll be able to save Rowan in time, aren't you?" Silence greeted Meredith's statement. She had her answer.

"Cristina, you can't… you can't possibly think they're going to let you take an untested heart and put it into a little girl! You know they won't! This isn't like your conduit kids! This is taking out an entire organ- one that is vital to actually being alive- and throwing in a new heart and hoping it will work!" Meredith's voice was raised now, her anger leaking into each word. "I know you care about her, and I know it's hard, but Cristina, she won't make it long enough to wait through the testing once it's ready. She's getting weaker everyday."

"You think I don't know that?!" Cristina snarled as she abruptly stood up from her chair. "You think I can't see how tired she's getting? How weak? This is it, Mer. This is the last shot. She won't make it through another surgery, unless it's this one. I just need to get it to work, and- and I think I got it. I think I figured it out- I just have to-"

"Cristina- you need to step away." Meredith told her as she blocked Cristina from moving towards the 3-D printer. "You need to go get some actual sleep. Need to take some time to accept the reality. Go. I'll sit here with it. I'll sit with the heart, make sure it goes smoothly, but you need to go get some sleep, okay?"

"Mer-"

"I'm serious, Cristina. Go."

Too tired to fight, Cristina nodded, and quietly left the room. As much as Meredith may not approve, she knew that she wouldn't do anything to disrupt the research.

Having been ban from her own research lab, Cristina wasn't sure where she was going to go. She wasn't ready to go back into Rowan's room- not with Meredith's words still so close to the surface. Not really thinking about it, she let her mind wander as she began aimlessly wandering.

It wasn't until she stood in front of the door to the vent that Cristina even realized where she had gone. Sighing, she turned the door handle and pushed her way inside, drawing up short at the sight of Dr. Owen Hunt standing on the vent, eyes closed.

At the sound of the door, Owen's eyes opened and he turned to look over at the intruder, hoping, but not actually expecting to see Cristina standing in the doorway. She looked tired, he thought to himself as he took in her appearance. After a brief moment where their eyes met, Cristina walked over to stand on the vent in front of him, just like they used to. She closed her eyes and tried to breathe around the emotions that gripped her.

Unable to resist, Owen reached a hand up to cup her face, his thumb coming up to tenderly brush over the bags that had formed under her eyes. The vent was… out of time, out of reality. Here, and only here, he was allowed to do this. Because it was almost as if it wasn't real. Her small hand came up to wrap tenderly around the forearm of the hand that still held her face.

"Wait for it…" He murmured softly, knowing that the next round of gushing air was going to hit them soon. Only moments later, it blasted from the vent, blowing their hair and clothes around.

Inhaling deeply, Cristina let the air hit her- taking the breath right out of her. She didn't laugh in delight as it tossed her hair about her face, she didn't even open her eyes- just content to stand here- out of time and space- with Owen.

He watched her as the air hit them. Watched as she tried to breathe around the rush, watched as those curls that he loved swirled around her. She was beautiful. So heartbreakingly beautiful, and for now, just for this brief moment, he had her. He had her back.

As the wind died down, she opened her eyes; brilliant blue meeting pained brown. He watched as her brow furrowed and tears gathered.

"Hey… hey- it'll be okay." He whispered to her as he drew her into his arms. She shook her head against his shirt as her arms wrapped tightly around him, hands clutching at the material on his back.

"She's going to die." Cristina whimpered quietly into his chest. "She's going to die before I can stop it." Exhausted, Cristina crumpled against him, letting him gently move her off the vent before lowering them to their knees on the ground next to the grate. Still clutching at one another, Owen brought a hand up to smooth over the curls that he hadn't touched in almost a year. Pressing a tender kiss to her head, he sat there with her- out of time and space- and allowed her to take comfort in his embrace.

"It'll be okay." He murmured to her. "It'll be okay."

(Line Break)

A/N: So. Sorry for the delay. I wrote this chapter back in October, but FF wouldn't let me upload it, so

I got frustrated, and ended up walking away from it for a while. Fanfic also wont let me edit the chapters that it does allow to upload, which is why its says "(Line Break)" instead of an actual line break (something that annoys me to no end). I may have went a little overboard. To tell you the truth, I don't have any plan for the fanfic. I don't sit down and plan anything out or whatever, I usually just sit down, and write whatever story I feel like I want to read at that time. So, I know this chapter seems a little out of character, and trust me, I'm not fond of OC's either, but it has it's purpose, I promise. Anyway- Yay! Crowen moment! Enjoy- let me know about any mistakes, and I'll fix them, and keep reviewing! I love to read how you guys feel about the story!


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